Senecio angulatus, also known as creeping groundsel and Cape ivy, is a succulent flowering plant in the family Asteraceae that is native to South Africa. Cape ivy is a scrambling herb that can become an aggressive weed once established, making it an invasive species. It is grown as an ornamental plant for its satiny foliage and sweet-scented flowers. It is a problem weed in New Zealand, and is naturalised in parts of North Africa and Southern Europe. In Australia, Senecio tamoides is sometimes misapplied and is considered to be Senecio angulatus. Although it resembles S. tamoides, Open Tree of Life indicates that it is most closely related to species in the genus Curio, such as Curio articulatus, followed by Delairea odorata. Other common names include climbing groundsel, angled senecio, Algerian senecio, Jordanian senecio and scrambling groundsel.
Description
Leaves and stems
Its form is a dense tangled shrub 2 metres (6.6 ft) to 6 metres (20 ft) tall or a climber that can reach 10 metres (33 ft) high, if suitable support is available. The stems are succulent, and are often variegated with pale yellow green and purple, which become woody as they age. They are slightly angular (not upright) and usually sparingly branched. Neither stems nor leaves are hairy. The alternate leaves are rhombic to ovate (diamond-shaped or egg-shaped), 3 to 5 centimetres (1.2 to 2.0 in) long and 1 to 5 centimetres (0.39 to 1.97 in) wide and occur in 1–4 pairs. They are thick, glossy, fleshy and coarsely toothed, with one to three teeth each side and bluntly lobed, with upper leaves becoming smaller with fewer teeth or none at all. They have a frosted look from a powdery coating on the lower side. Leaf stalks are 1 to 4 centimetres (0.39 to 1.57 in) long.
Inflorescence
Senecio angulatus produces numerous flowers in open clusters at the end of its branches or stems. The honey-scented flowers are on an elongated stem and open in succession from the base up as the stem continues to grow. The flower clusters are more flat at the top than pyramid-like, and are 4 to 8 centimetres (1.6 to 3.1 in) in diameter. Often the cluster droops with the flower heads at the end of the cluster turning upwards. Flower stalks are mostly hairless or with some short hairs, 6.5 to 10.5 millimetres (0.26 to 0.41 in) long. Attached to flower stalks are 8–11 fine pointed bracts 5 to 6 millimetres (0.20 to 0.24 in) which are surrounded by 4–7 pale green and sometimes purple tinged supplementary bracts at the base, 1.5 to 2.5 millimetres (0.059 to 0.098 in) which make a cup shape around the base of the involucre. Individual flower-heads are radiate and urn-shaped. The corolla has a disc comprising 10-15 dull golden yellow disc florets. Each disc floret is a hairless tube with a slight expansion below the middle and lobes 1.3 to 2 millimetres (0.051 to 0.079 in) wide. 4-6 ray florets surround the disc florets and have yellow ligules (that look like petals) 5.5 to 9.5 millimetres (0.22 to 0.37 in) long that make the flowers look daisy-like. An autumn-winter bloomer, the plant flowers from April to May in Southern Africa and May to July in Australia. In New Zealand, it blooms from March to August. In the northern hemisphere, it flowers from November to the end of January. Under a full sun it can bloom in late spring as well, albeit sparingly. Achenes are 3 to 4 millimetres (0.12 to 0.16 in) long, ribbed or grooved with short hairs in the grooves and a tapering cylindrical shape. The parachute-like hairs, the pappus, are 5 to 7 millimetres (0.20 to 0.28 in) long.
Cultivation Due to its drought-tolerance and succulent nature, Cape ivy thrives in areas with a Mediterranean climate, where it has been cultivated in parts of North Africa, Southern Europe and the Levant.
History Cape ivy was introduced in Malta in the 15th century as an ornamental plant. In Queensland, the plant may have increased in popularity following the Boer War, as there were anecdotal accounts that it was introduced from South Africa by the soldiers who returned to Australia after 1902. Moreover, it was displayed in garden pillars in Brisbane newspapers between 1906 and 1910, praising the plant for the beauty of both its foliage and its yellow clusters of blooms. Though these reports may have falsely applied the S. angulatus name to Senecio mikanioides, which was a weed at that time on the east coast. It was most likely introduced to the United States after 1930, as it is not listed in the first edition of Hortus, although it is rarely cultivated in that country. The plant was collected as a weed in Melbourne's southern suburb of Mornington in 1936, and was displayed in newspaper column submissions in areas between Bendigo and Swan Hill in the 1940s and 1950s. In Melbourne metropolitan area, it became prevalent on coastal banks and on decomposed rock gullies of suburban creeks. It was introduced in New Zealand in 1940 as an ornamental.
Propagation Cape ivy grows in USDA hardiness zones 9a through 11b, tolerating temperatures between 10 °C (50 °F) and 38 °C (100 °F), and is medium to fast-growing. Drought and heat tolerant, it would flourish better with some water in the summer and would bloom more often in full sun. It can grow indoors as a houseplant, provided it gets some sunlight. Pruning is necessary as the plant can become limp when it gets taller. Propagation can be done by cuttings (as the plant easily roots from the branch tips). Seeds prefer consistent moisture and warm temperatures to germinate. Annual fertilisation is necessary, though not mandatory. Pests include aphids.
Distribution
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