Flora of North America species comparison

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Senecio lugens

Senecio riddellii
Senecio lugens

black-tip groundsel, small blacktip ragwort

Riddell's groundsel, Riddell's ragwort
Habit Perennials, (10–)20–35(–50) cm (rhizomes suberect to creeping). Subshrubs, 30–100 cm (taproots forming woody crowns).
Herbage

loosely, often unevenly, floccose-tomentose, glabrescent.

glabrous.
Stems

single or clustered.

usually multiple (branching upward).
Leaves

reduced distally; petiolate;

blades narrowly obovate to oblanceolate, (4–)8–18(–25) cm, bases tapered, margins subentire to dentate (denticles callous; mid and distal leaves bractlike, clasping).

± evenly distributed (proximal often withering before flowering, pendulous);

sessile or obscurely petiolate;

blades linear-filiform (or irregularly pinnately divided into linear-filiform lobes), blades or lobes 4–9 cm × 1–5 mm, bases ± linear, ultimate margins entire.
Ray florets

(± 5) ± 8 (± 13);

corolla laminae 8–10(–15) mm.

± 8;

corolla laminae (often falling early) 8–10 mm.
Phyllaries

(± 8) ± 13 (± 21), 4–7 mm, tips black.

± 13, 7–10(–12+) mm, tips green.
Calyculi

of 2–5 linear bractlets (1–2 mm).

usually of 3–8+ lance-linear to filiform bractlets (lengths 1/10–1/3 phyllaries).
Heads

(2–)7–12(–20+) in corymbiform arrays.

5–20+ in close, corymbiform arrays (involucres campanulate, 7–10 mm diam.).
Cypselae

glabrous.

hirtellous.
2n

= 40, 80.

= 40.

Senecio lugens

Senecio riddellii
Phenology Flowering summer. Flowering mostly mid summer–fall, occasionally spring.
Habitat Moist meadows, gravelly streambeds, open woods in alpine or boreal sites Sandy or rocky open sites, especially drying, open, flood plains
Elevation 200–2500 m (700–8200 ft) 600–2500 m (2000–8200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; MT; WA; WY; AB; BC; NT; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; KS; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Senecio lugens varies greatly in robustness across its range. It is scattered widely in the Rocky Mountain uplift and adjacent regions from northern Wyoming to Alaska; it is disjunct in the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. Superficially similar to S. integerrimus, S. lugens has well-developed, coarse, spreading rootstocks with branching roots; S. integerrimus arises from foreshortened, buttonlike caudices with abundant unbranched, fleshy-fibrous roots.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Senecio riddellii intergrades morphologically with S. spartioides. Typically, the former has larger heads with campanulate involucres 7–10 mm diam.; the latter has cylindric involucres rarely more than 6 mm diam.

Senecio riddellii is poisonous to livestock. It is now locally scarce because of efforts to eradicate it.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 20, p. 554. FNA vol. 20, p. 560.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Senecioneae > Senecio Asteraceae > tribe Senecioneae > Senecio
Sibling taxa
S. actinella, S. amplectens, S. ampullaceus, S. aphanactis, S. arizonicus, S. aronicoides, S. astephanus, S. atratus, S. bigelovii, S. blochmaniae, S. californicus, S. cannabifolius, S. clarkianus, S. crassulus, S. elegans, S. elmeri, S. eremophilus, S. ertterae, S. erucifolius, S. flaccidus, S. fremontii, S. hydrophiloides, S. hydrophilus, S. integerrimus, S. jacobaea, S. lemmonii, S. lyonii, S. megacephalus, S. mohavensis, S. multidentatus, S. neowebsteri, S. parryi, S. pattersonensis, S. pseudoarnica, S. pudicus, S. quaylei, S. rapifolius, S. riddellii, S. sacramentanus, S. scorzonella, S. serra, S. sheldonensis, S. soldanella, S. spartioides, S. sphaerocephalus, S. spribillei, S. squalidus, S. sylvaticus, S. taraxacoides, S. triangularis, S. viscosus, S. vulgaris, S. warnockii, S. wootonii
S. actinella, S. amplectens, S. ampullaceus, S. aphanactis, S. arizonicus, S. aronicoides, S. astephanus, S. atratus, S. bigelovii, S. blochmaniae, S. californicus, S. cannabifolius, S. clarkianus, S. crassulus, S. elegans, S. elmeri, S. eremophilus, S. ertterae, S. erucifolius, S. flaccidus, S. fremontii, S. hydrophiloides, S. hydrophilus, S. integerrimus, S. jacobaea, S. lemmonii, S. lugens, S. lyonii, S. megacephalus, S. mohavensis, S. multidentatus, S. neowebsteri, S. parryi, S. pattersonensis, S. pseudoarnica, S. pudicus, S. quaylei, S. rapifolius, S. sacramentanus, S. scorzonella, S. serra, S. sheldonensis, S. soldanella, S. spartioides, S. sphaerocephalus, S. spribillei, S. squalidus, S. sylvaticus, S. taraxacoides, S. triangularis, S. viscosus, S. vulgaris, S. warnockii, S. wootonii
Synonyms S. glaucescens, S. imbricatus, S. integerrimus var. lugens S. filifolius var. fremontii, S. riddellii var. parksii, S. spartioides var. fremontii, S. spartioides var. parksii, S. spartioides var. riddellii
Name authority Richardson: in J. Franklin et al., Narr. Journey Polar Sea, 748. (1823) Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 2: 444. (1843)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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