Kingdom Plantae Family Asteraceae Genus Dendrosenecio | Order Asterales Tribe Senecioneae Rank Subspecies | |
Scientific name Dendrosenecio cheranganiensis Similar Dendrosenecio battiscombei, Dendrosenecio keniensis, Dendrosenecio keniodendron, Dendrosenecio, Dendrosenecio kilimanjari | ||
Dendrosenecio cheranganiensis is one of the East African giant groundsel, this one endemic to the Cherangani Hills. Once it was a genus of Senecio but has recently been reclassified as a Dendrosenecio.
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Description
Dendrosenecio cheranganiensis can grow to 6 meters tall, with trunks up to 25 centimeters in diameter and pith with diameters of 2 centimeters. Leaf-rosettes of 40–70 leaves. Infrequent reproduction makes these giant plants sparsely branched and columnar. They rarely exceed three reproductive cycles. Leaves can be up to 94 centimeters long and 25 centimeters wide. Inflorescence can be 100 centimeters tall and 70 centimeters in diameter. 10 to 13 ray florets 10–13 and 25 to 50 disc florets.
Distribution
D. cheranganiensis grows between 2600–3400 meters on the slopes of the Cherangani Hills.
Infraspecific name synonymy
The names for the giant groundsels have become somewhat confusing: