Senecio brasiliensis explained

Senecio brasiliensis, known by the common name flor-das-almas, (flower-of-souls), is a perennial species of the genus Senecio and family Asteraceae. It is native to fields and meadows of central South America.

Description

S. brasiliensis is a densely leafy perennial herb, 1m (03feet) to 2m (07feet) tall, with yellow flowers that prefers to make its home in degraded pasture lands and unploughed croplands in central South America.^{[1] [2]}

Leaves and stems: S. brasiliensis stands very upright with a branched hairless and grooved stem. The leaves are alternate, pinnate and deeply lobed^[2] dark green on the top, whitish green on the underside.^[3] The lower part of the plant is smooth, while the upper part is hairy and the leaves cluster at the highest point with the flower stalks (corymbs).^[2]

Flowers: Yellow flowers dense on corymbs; two types of flowers (that look like [petal]s), disc florets with both male and female flowers and ray flowers which are simply female.^[2]

Seeds: Small seed with white hairs that use the wind to get around with.^[2]

Common Names

• en|Flower of souls, hempleaf ragwort
• pt|malmequer-amarelo, Maria-mole, tasneirinha, flor-das-almas^{[2] [3] [4]}
• Guarani

Agosto poty (August flower)

Distribution

S. brasiliensis grows at elevations of 0m (00feet) to 1000m (3,000feet).

Native: Argentina (mostly North Argentine Northwest and Gran Chaco), Bolivia, Brazil (mostly South Central), Paraguay, and Uruguay.^{[2] [4]}

Current:

America

North America: Alabama, Florida^[4]

South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay

Europe

South-West Europe: Portugal^[5]

Predators

• Phaedon confinis (Chrysomelidae)^[1]
• Atarsocoris brachiariae (Hemiptera: Cydnidae) – Burrowing brown bug^[6]

External links

• • Web site: Herbarium record . 2008-04-22 . Neotropical Herbarium Specimens . fieldmuseum.org .
• Web site: Image of Senecio brasiliensis . 2008-03-06 . Gustavo H. Shimizu . 2006-09-30.

Notes and References

1. Web site: ENTOMOFAUNA ASSOCIATED WITH SENECIO BRASILIENSIS LESS (ASTERACEAE), AND PHAEDON CONFINIS (INSECTA; COLEOPTERA; CHRYSOMELIDAE) AS A POSSIBLE CONTROLLER AGENT OF THIS TOXIC PLANT . 5 March 2008 . Michelli Maria Mendes . Maysa de Lima Leite . Geovan Henrique Corrêa . Julianne Milléo . Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa . 2005-04-20 . pt . Phaedon confinis Klug, 1829 (Chrysomelidae) was the one that most stood out, specially because it was found in great numbers on the plant .
2. Web site: Senecio spp. . 2008-03-05 . Claudio Barros . Elissa Totin . Raquel Rech . Marcia Ilha . Steve Valeika . Universidade Federal de Santa Maria . March 2001 . Lista de Plantas . . pt . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080221081205/http://www.vet.uga.edu/VPP/nsep/toxic_plants/POR/Senecio/index.htm . 21 February 2008 .
3. Web site: Senecio brasiliensis Less. – Maria-mole . 6 March 2008 . Centro de Informação Toxicológica do Rio Grande do Sul . pt.
4. Web site: PLANTS Profile, Senecio cannabinifolius Hook. & Arn. . 6 March 2008 . Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) . Natural Resources Conservation Service . The PLANTS Database . United States Department of Agriculture.
5. Dana, E. D., Verloove, F., Alves, P., & Heiden, G. (2021). Senecio brasiliensis (Spreng.) Less. (Asteraceae), another potentially invasive alien species in Europe. BioInvasions Records, v. 10 (3), 521-53
6. Oliveira Émerson D.M. de, Pasini Amarildo, Fonseca Inês C.B. . Universidade Estadual de Londrina . Association of the soil bug Atarsocoris sp. (Hemiptera: Cydnidae) with the weed Senecio brasiliensis Less . Neotropical Entomology . 32 . 1 . 155–157 . Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil . January 2003 . 10.1590/S1519-566X2003000100024 . 1519566X . ÉMerson D.M. de . Pasini . Amarildo . Fonseca . Inês C.B.. free .