''Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides'' (syn. ''Senecio confusus''), known commonly as Mexican flamevine, orange-flowered groundselPseudogynoxys chenopodioides (Kunth) Cabrera
Flora Fauna Web. Retrieved 19 March 2024. and orange glow vine, is a climber in the family Asteraceae, native to

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

and northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. It is a vigorous vine with thick evergreen, deep green leaves and bright orange daisy-like flowers, which are borne in

cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study the magnetosphere * Asteroid cluster, a small ...

s, and usually bloom all year round.

Description

''Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides'' is a fast-growing,Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides (Mexican flamevine)
CGAPS twining,

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

vine that reaches a height of to . It features smooth, subcylindrical, glabrous or puberulous stems that become slightly woody as they age. Its evergreen leaves are simple, dull, alternate, arrowhead-shaped, toothed or serrated, 2-4 inches long, glabrous, somewhat fleshy,

ovate Ovate may refer to: * Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe * Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd * Vates or ovate, a term for ancient Celtic bards ...

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

, often unequal, membranaceous with conspicuous venation, slightly cordiform and obtuse base, and acute

apex The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics) A-Bomb Abomination Absorbing Man Abraxas Abyss Abyss is the name of two characters appearing in Ameri ...

.SENECIO CONFUSUS MEXICAN FLAME VINE
Edward F. Gilman, Ryan W. Klein, and Gail Hansen. University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved 14 March 2024. Its

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

s are 1.5-2.2 cm long.

Inflorescences

It features moderately scented, daisy-like, orange ray flowers (which age to a

bright red ''Bright Red'' is the fifth studio album by American avant-garde musician Laurie Anderson, released by Warner Bros. in 1994. The album continues the more pop-oriented direction Anderson launched with '' Strange Angels''. Produced by Brian Eno ( ...

vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide). It is synonymous with red orange, which often takes a moder ...

upon

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma (botany), stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or bu ...

) that are 1 inch in diameter with golden tubular corollas on terminal clusters. Capitula is 2-6 cm, pedunculate, in terminal corymbiform

cymes In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a main axis ( ped ...

. Peduncle is 2-5 cm in diameter. The

phyllaries In botanical terminology, a phyllary, also known an involucral bract or tegule, is a single bract of the involucre of a composite flower. The involucre is the grouping of bracts together. Phyllaries are reduced leaf-like structures that form one o ...

are green, lanceolate, 4 mm long.

Achenes An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not open ...

are turbinate and hispidulous, 4 mm in diameter.

Polycarpic Polycarpic plants are those that flower and set seeds many times before dying. A term of identical meaning is pleonanthic and iteroparous. Polycarpic plants are able to reproduce multiple times due to at least some portion of its meristems being ...

, the plant will sporadically bloom all year-round in mild winter climates, though generally peaking in spring and summer.Senecio confusus (Mexican Flame Vine)
Gardenia.net In Florida, it tends to flower in autumn and winter more, and in Puerto Rico it flowers from late winter to early spring.Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides (Mexican flamevine)
J Rojas-Sandoval.

Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International CABI (legally CAB International, formerly Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux) is a nonprofit intergovernmental development and information organisation focusing primarily on agricultural and environmental issues in the developing world, and the ...

. 8 July 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2024. The fruits are ribbed, inconspicuous, oval-shaped brown less than 0.5 inches in diameter, with persistent

bristle A bristle is a stiff hair or feather (natural or artificial), either on an animal, such as a pig, a plant, or on a tool such as a brush or broom. Synthetic types Synthetic materials such as nylon are also used to make bristles in items such as b ...

s. Its seeds are wind dispersed and its fruit resemble

dandelion ''Taraxacum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus has a near-cosmopolitan distribu ...

seed heads. White and bristly

cypselae Asteraceae () is a large family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger fam ...

that are 2-4mm long are continual on plant.

Taxonomy

The plant's former scientific name ''Senecio confusus'' translates to "confused old man", which refers to the pappus bristles on the

achenes An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not open ...

and the vine's rampant, irregular habit of growth, respectively. Without support, a "confusion" of stems change the plant into a straggly shrub.Senecio confusus - a Fiesta of Mexican Flowers for beginners and butterflies...
Top Tropicals Its current taxonomic name ''Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides'' refer to its "pseudo" resemblance to some of the species within the

gynoxys ''Gynoxys'' is a genus of South American flowering plants in the family Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biolo ...

and

chenopodioideae The Chenopodioideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae in the APG III system, which is largely based on molecular phylogeny, but were included – together with other subfamilies – in the family Chenopodiaceae, or goose ...

genus. 'Gynoxys' is derived from Greek terms of 'gyne' (female) and 'oxys' (spiny), which refers to the shape of the plant's female flower parts. 'Chenopodioides' means 'resembling goosefoot' in Greek (chen: goose, pous: foot), which describes the leaf shape.

Distribution

It is native from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

(specifically

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

) to

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

in Central America, and can be found as far south as tropical

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

and

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

, and as far north as

southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. It has been naturalized in Hawaii (

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, other parts of the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, possibly the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, United States (such as

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and on various islands in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, and is an

adventive plant Adventive plants, also known as alien plants, foreign plants or casual plants are alien plant species appearing in a place that does not correspond to their area of origin, in contrast to the native species. These plants can arrive by natural mea ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. It generally thrives in moist habits (though it can tolerate mildly dry climates and moderate

drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

). Versatile, it can survive in elevations exceeding 2200 m.

Invasiveness

Due to its distribution ability by wind-dispersed seeds and stem fragments (which can root readily), it has become an

escaped plant An escaped plant is a Cultigen, cultivated plant that has escaped from agriculture, forestry or garden cultivation and has become naturalized in the wild. Usually not native to an area, escaped plants may become Invasive species, invasive. Theref ...

that is naturalized along roadsides, forest edges, moist

thicket A thicket is a very dense stand of trees or tall shrubs, often dominated by only one or a few species, to the exclusion of all others. They may be formed by species that shed large numbers of highly viable seeds that are able to germinate in th ...

s and disturbed sites. As such, it has been listed as invasive in

Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...

, Hawaii, and it is considered potentially invasive in Florida and Galapagos Islands due to its aggressive habit of spreading and rapidly colonizing new environments.

Cultivation

The Mexican flamevine is prized as an ornamental because of its showy flowers, which are pollinated by butterflies,

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

s and bees. It is widely grown in gardens in parts of the United States in

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

s 10 through 11 as a climber or

groundcover Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows low over an area of ground, which protects the topsoil from erosion and drought. In a terrestrial ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as the ...

, though it can be hardy down to -6.7 °C (20 °F) in zone 9a. It requires full sun, well-drained soil, and either a trellis or a shrub to climb on. Its fast growth is ideal to cover unsightly fences (since it usually reaches maturity within the first year). Regular

heading Heading can refer to: * Heading (metalworking), a process which incorporates the extruding and upsetting processes * Heading (navigation), the direction a person or vehicle is facing, usually similar to its course ** Aircraft heading, the directi ...

aids foliage growth and blooms at the bottom of a fence or trellis. If not pruned, foliage and flowers will generally pile up at the top. Spent

flowerhead Flowerhead was a rock band from Austin, Texas. Biography The seeds of Flowerhead were originally planted deep underground by founding members Eric Faust (Lead Vocals, Bass, Guitars) and Buz Zoller (Guitars, Vocals) in 1987. With the addition of ...

s should be occasionally removed to boost blooming all across plant. In colder areas,

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

will kill the shoots, but the roots can survive the winter in most of the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

. It can be grown as an

annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. Globally, 6% of all plant species and 15% of herbaceous plants (excluding trees and shrubs) are ...

in a cold climate due to its rapid growth rate. If not grown as a vine, it will grow in a sprawling shrub-like form.
Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides
'

Missouri Botanical Garden The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropy, philanthropist Henry Shaw (philanthropist), Henry Shaw. I ...

It is moderately drought-tolerant and prefers usually wet, somewhat

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The ...

clay, sand, acidic and loam soils. The plant is mildly toxic if indigested, and handling it may usually result in

dermatitis Dermatitis is a term used for different types of skin inflammation, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened ...

and an itching

rash A rash is a change of the skin that affects its color, appearance, or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cracke ...

. It is toxic to dogs, cats and horses. It has been cultivated in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

with one

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

record since the early 1940s. It has been cultivated in

since 1939, with low to moderate availability, and has been reported as persisting after cultivation there, growing on disturbed sites.Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides (Kunth) Cabrera, Brittonia. 7: 56. 1950
''

Flora of North America The ''Flora of North America North of Mexico'' (usually referred to as ''FNA'') is a multivolume work describing the native plants and naturalized plants of North America, including the United States, Canada, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and Greenla ...

'' v 20 p 608. It is also sold under the name 'São Paulo'.Mexican Flame Vine (Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides 'Sao Paulo')
National Gardening Association

Pests

''P. chenopodioides'' is a nonhost of '' Digitivalva delaireae'' and this moth is an ineffective

biocontrol Biological control or biocontrol is a method of pest control, controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or phytopathology, plants by bioeffector, using other organisms. It relies o ...

of the plant.

Nematodes The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitic. Parasitic worms (he ...

mites Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) of two large orders, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as eac ...

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...

, and

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s can also disturb the plant. Leaves may have irregular reddish-purple patches, either due to nutrient deficiency, or infestation by '' Alternaria senecionis'', a fungus which causes leaf

lesion A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an organism, usually caused by injury or diseases. The term ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin meaning "injury". Lesions may occur in both plants and animals. Types There is no de ...

s. Nonetheless, the plant is rarely bothered by any pests, therefore making it good for beginners.

Gallery

Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides, a Flame Vine (9471242268).jpg, alt=Spent flowers Senecio confusus 2015-07-15 4322.jpg, alt=Back of flower Starr-990106-3112-Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides-habit-Hana-Maui (24416937592).jpg, alt=Shrub Senecio confusus 2016-05-09 9799.jpg, alt=Potted plants Senecio confusus 2016-07-19 2737.jpg, alt=Leaf detail Orange Glow Vine (433796743).jpg, alt=Budding flowers Mexican flamevine.jpg, Cultivar or hybrid with small flowers Mexican Flame Vine (29714325468).jpg, On a trellis in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Senecio confusus (433794241).jpg,

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15551114 Vines Flora of Florida Flora of Mexico Flora of Honduras Flora of Central America Flora of the Caribbean Flora of Venezuela Flora of Colombia Flora of Guyana Flora of Suriname Taxa named by Ángel Lulio Cabrera chenopodioides Plants that can bloom all year round Garden plants of Central America Garden plants of North America Plants described in 1818