Dendrosenecio kilimanjari

Dendrosenecio kilimanjari is a giant groundsel found on Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, below 4,000 metres (13,000 ft).

Dendrosenecio kilimanjari
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Dendrosenecio
Species:
D. kilimanjari
Binomial name
Dendrosenecio kilimanjari
Synonyms

Senecio kilimanjari Mildbr.
Sources:[1][2]

Taxonomy

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It was originally known as Senecio kilimanjari, but a recent botanical reclassification split off some species formerly in Senecio, putting it and various other species in the new genus Dendrosenecio. Both genera are in the family Asteraceae. The giant groundsels of the genus Dendrosenecio evolved, about a million years ago, from a Senecio that established itself on Mount Kilimanjaro, with those that survived adapting into Dendrosenecio kilimanjari. This later colonised other mountains by some means - a standard distance for wind dispersal of seeds is a few metres - and these isolated populations adapted in ways different from the parent population, creating new species.[3]

Infraspecific name synonymy

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The infraspecific names for the giant groundsels have become somewhat confusing:

  • Dendrosenecio kilimanjari (Mildbr.) E.B.Knox subsp. cottonii (Hutch. & G.Taylor) E.B.Knox
    • Dendrosenecio johnstonii (Oliv.) B.Nord. subsp. cottonii (Hutch. & G.Taylor) B.Nord.
    • Senecio cottonii Hutch. & G.Taylor
    • Senecio johnstonii Oliv. subsp. cottonii (Hutch. & G.Taylor) Mabb.
    • Senecio johnstonii Oliv. var. cottonii (Hutch. & G.Taylor) C.Jeffrey[4]
  • Dendrosenecio kilimanjari (Mildbr.) E.B.Knox subsp. kilimanjari
 
A large Dendrosenecio kilimanjari, near Barranco Camp, Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania

References

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  1. ^ "Senecio kilimanjari record n° 98706". African Plants Database. South African National Biodiversity Institute, the Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève and Tela Botanica. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
  2. ^ "Dendrosenecio kilimanjari record n° 177712". African Plants Database. South African National Biodiversity Institute, the Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève and Tela Botanica. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  3. ^ Knox, Eric B. (2004). "Adaptive radiation of African montane plants". In Ulf Dieckmann; Michael Doebeli; Diethard Tautz; Johan A. J. Metz (eds.). Adaptive Speciation. Cambridge University Press. p. 476. ISBN 0-521-82842-2. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  4. ^ "Dendrosenecio kilimanjari (Mildbr.) E.B.Knox subsp. cottonii (Hutch. & G.Taylor) E.B.Knox record n° 105270". African Plants Database. South African National Biodiversity Institute, the Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève and Tela Botanica. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  5. ^ "Dendrosenecio kilimanjari (Mildbr.) E.B.Knox subsp. kilimanjari (Hutch. & G.Taylor) E.B.Knox record n° 105271". African Plants Database. South African National Biodiversity Institute, the Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève and Tela Botanica. Retrieved 2008-05-13.[permanent dead link]
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