Senecio elegans fruit pappus bristles

Many-bristled Senecio elegans fruitheads are quite dry by the time the individual fruits are blown away. The brown involucral bracts have by now relinquished their hold on proceedings, their job done. The fruits are then wind-transported on unscheduled flights to wherever they might find fortune in the form of good growing conditions.

The leaf lobing or incisions are variable, in picture much less than sometimes seen. The photo was taken at Nature’s Valley during May (Manning, 2009; Bean and Johns, 2005; iNaturalist).