Senecio keniophytum

Atop of Mount Kenya Senecio keniophytum is one of the endemic groundsel (Senecio) found at high altitudes in Kenya, such as the Afro-alpine zone of Mount Kenya, but not one of the giant Dendrosenecio that also live there.

Description
A creeping perennial whose flowering branches stand "tall" at 4 cm to 13 cm in a land where its relatives can be 1.5 m tall, tough Senecio keniophytum manages to live in the same locales without dominating the landscape.


 * Leaves and stems: A branching plant with tough densely white stems with leaves attached directly to them. Long and oblong leaves are a little less than 2 cm long and 0.5 cm wide with purplish bases.  Leave edges have teeth and leaf surfaces have green and white hairs on the upper side and a dense matting of white hair and bald midrib on the lower side.
 * Flowers: The radiate flower heads are solitary sometimes two or three together and stand up and flower stalks cottony with hairs. Bracts about 9 mm to 12 mm long and about 5 mm diameter.  A whorl of another set of eight to twelve bracts dark tipped and 5 mm to 9 mm long also with hairs.  Twelve to twenty phyllaries also black tipped, 7 mm to 11 mm from densely hairy to no hair at all.  Twelve to twenty bright yellow ray florets, tubes 3 mm long, rays 6 mm x 3 mm with four veins.  A dull-yellow to brown disc floret, corolla 6 mm long, all hairless and expanding from the middle.
 * Fruits and reproduction: Achenes 3 mm long, ribbed with no hairs. Pappus 5.5 mm long.
 * Roots: A horizontal plant with stems that send shoots above and roots below.

Distribution
Endemic to Mount Kenya, at altitudes of 3700 m to 4500 m.