''Senecio ampullaceus'', also known as Texas ragwort, Texas squaw-weed, Texas groundsel, and Texas butterweed, is a species of ''

Senecio ''Senecio'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels. Variously circumscribed taxonomically, the genus ''Senecio'' is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. Description Morp ...

'' in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae ...

, receiving its Latin name ''ampullaceus'' from its flask shaped flower-head. It is recommended for landscape use in its native

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Description

The seedlings of ''S. ampullaceus'' often have a purplish color on the undersides of their leaves in the winter, especially along their midrib. Flowering in early–mid spring, Texas ragwort is a tall annual, growing to from to tall and similar to '' S. quaylei''. Stems and leaves: The leaves with broadly winged leaf stalks, grow from single stems; the nodes between leaves getting shorter and shorter higher on the stem. Ovate leaves with pointed tips to long by to wide with tapered bases. Leaves at the lower portion of the plant have more teeth on their edges than the leaves at the upper portion of the mature plant. Stems and leaves are covered loosely and unevenly with a mat of fine hairs, occasionally having no hairs. Flowers: Flowering stalks have 10 to 30 flower heads which as a group make a flat top to the whole plant. Each flower head is surrounded by 2 to 8 bractlets or mini-leaves, each to more than . Approximately 13 green to grayish bracts, to long surrounding 8 ray florets and an to

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

. Fruits: One seeded fruits with rigid pappus. Roots: Roots relatively thin and branching.

Distribution

''S. ampullaceus'' prefers altitudes of to in open sandy or disturbed sites. Native: Range of Senecio ampullaceus-Native

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...

: ::North-central United States:

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

::Southeastern United States:

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...

::South-central United States:

or ::Southeastern United States:

::South central United States:

Current: :

: ::North-central United States:

, Oklahoma ::Southeastern United States:

::South-central United States:

Varieties or subspecies which are synonyms

*''Senecio ampullaceus'' var. ''floccosus'' Engelm. & A. Gray *''Senecio ampullaceus'' var. ''glaberrimus'' Engelm. & A. Gray

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q7450366 ampullaceus Flora of Texas Flora of North America