Roldana petasitis, also known as the velvet groundsel or Californian geranium,[3] is a species of the genus Roldana and family Asteraceae that used to be classified in the genus Senecio. It is native to Central America.
| Roldana petasitis | |
|---|---|
_H.Rob._and_Brettell_(AM_AK303169-1).jpg)
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Roldana |
| Species: | R. petasitis
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| Binomial name | |
| Roldana petasitis | |
| Synonyms[1][2] | |
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Senecio petasitis (Sims) DC. | |
Description
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It is an evergreen subshrub that thrives in constant heat and prefers sheltered gardens. Growing up to 1.8 m tall, it features weak stems, large softly hairy, venated, palmate leaves that are 20 cm long and wide at most, with seven or more broad, blunt lobes.[4]
Inflorescences
editThe 8 to 10 mm long, yellow flowerheads, like daisies, of about 6 ray ligulate petals are borne in foliaceous panicles. The plant blooms from winter to early spring.[3]
Varieties
edit'Roldana p. var. cristobalensis' is a variety of this plant which features leaves with purple undersides.[5][6] 'Roldana petasitis var. oaxacana' and 'sartorii' are other varieties.[7][8]
Distribution
editThe plant is native to the subtropical highlands (Sierra Madre del Sur) of Oaxaca in Mexico, south to the tropics in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua.[9][10]
Climatically, it is found in the tropical savanna climates grading into the drier semi-arid or temperate wet/dry areas, where it is present from Veracruz in the north to Nicaragua in the south, in both pine-oak and mountain cloud forests between 1,000m and 2,500m. The 'cristobalensis' variety is found in Chiapas, the southernmost Mexican state, and in Guatemala between elevations 1,000m and 1,600m.[11] It is naturalized in parts of southeastern Australia and New Zealand.[12]
Gallery
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Bunch of flowers -
Bushy habit -
Leaves -
Sprawling habit -
Pollination -
In a forest -
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Leaves with purple shades
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References
edit- ^ Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). "PLANTS Profile, Roldana petasitis". The PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
- ^ "Roldana petasitis". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
- ^ a b Velvet Groundsel Better Homes & Gardens. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
- ^ Roldana petasitis (Sims) H.Rob. & Brettell PlantNET. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ Roldana petasitis var. cristobalensis (Greenm.) FunstonBoard of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ Senecio cristobalensis syn. Roldana petasitis var. cristobalensis Special Plants.net by Derry Watkins. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ Roldana petasitis var. oaxacana (Hemsl.) Funston Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ Roldana petasitis var. sartorii (Sch.Bip. ex Hemsl.) Funston Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ Steven Foster's Images of Senecio petasitis, Roldana petasitis, Velvet Grounsel, California geranium Steven Foster Photography
- ^ Taxonomic Revision of Roldana (Asteraceae: Senecioneae), a Genus of the Southwestern U.S.A., Mexico, and Central America1 Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden by A. Michele Funston. January 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
- ^ Roldana cristobalensis (formerly Senecio cristobalensis…now, Roldana petasitis var. cristobalensis) GardenRiots Horticultural Forays Into a Changing Urban World
- ^ Roldana petasitis (Sims) H. Rob. & Brettell Environmental Weeds of Australia.
External links
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Media related to Roldana petasitis at Wikimedia Commons