Senecio sarcoides

Senecio sarcoides, commonly known in Afrikaans as the soetkopdikblaar (sweet head thick leaf) or grootaster (large chrysanthemum) and previously botanically as S. corymbiferus, is a branched, hairless shrub growing thick, fairly erect branches to heights around 75 cm.

The plant is similar to S. aloides but for its stem-tip flower clusters on stalks as long as the leaves.

The species is distributed in the Western Cape from Darling and Robertson to the western part of the Northern Cape and into southern Namibia near the coast. This one was seen in the Goegap Nature Reserve near Springbok.

The habitat is arid or semi-arid rocky slopes in shale or granitic soils. The plant is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2009; Le Roux, et al, 2005; Manning and Goldblatt, 1996; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).