Senecio abbreviatus

Senecio abbreviatus is a spreading succulent. Its leaves resemble those common among the Aizoaceae or vygie family, but the flowers place it in the Asteraceae or daisy family.

Plants are more likely to be classified on flower and seed characteristics than foliage features, although many plant names refer to leaf, hairs, colours or other attributes. Names may reflect notable descriptors for easy identification, but family reflects ancestry and relationship.

S. abbreviatus is found in the Mossel Bay area where it is known in Afrikaans as rankvingertjies (little twining fingers). The plant in the picture was found flowering in the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden during August.

It branches with creeping stems and erect, short, cylindrical, pale green leaves. The flowers have prominent yellow central discs and sparse yellow ray florets. The flowers grow solitary on long, erect, pinkish green petioles (Van Jaarsveld, et al, 2006).