Senecio vulgaris

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Distribution Map: Based on vouchered plant specimens only. View county names by placing the mouse cursor over a particular county.

Species Distribution Map
Family:ASTERACEAE
Species:Senecio vulgaris L.
Common Name:Common Groundsel; Old Man in the Spring
Habitat:**
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Herb
Duration:Annual
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:SEVU
Plant Notes:Common Groundsel is an introduced herbaceous annual in the Sunflower family (Asteraceae). It is native to Europe. In Alabama it can be found state-wide. Common Groundsel occurs in fields, in cemeteries, along railroad tracks, in flower beds, in nurseries, and in disturbed urban areas such as in cracks in pavement. It is an annual with a tap root. Stems are erect, green or purplish-red at the base in color, usually glabrous, and up to 16 inches in height. The leaves are petiolate (upper leaves are sessile), ovate to oblanceolate in outline, lobed and toothed along the margins, and glabrous or sparsely and unevenly pubescent with long white hairs. Flowers are produced in cylindric heads. The heads are arranged in loose corymbs. The heads are subtended by a prominent ring of black-tipped bracts (calyculi). Each head has 21 phyllaries, no ray flowers, and 13-80 yellow disc flowers. The fruit is a 5-ribbed cylindrical achene with a tuft of white pappus. Common Groundsel is a host for Theliaviopsis basicola, the fungus responsible for black root rot disease in many crops including peas, soybeans, carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Common Groundsel contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can cause liver damage in humans and livestock when consumed.—A. Diamond
Taxonomic Notes:**
Status:Not Native, FACU (NWI)
References:**
Specimen: View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilyASTERACEAE - Aster family
Genus Senecio
Species Senecio vulgaris L. - Common Groundsel; Old Man in the Spring

Citation

Citation Senecio vulgaris Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 867. 1753.
Basionym: **
Type: Without data (lectotype: LINN 996.7). Lectotypified by T. M. Barkley, in Rogerson et al., N. Amer. Fl., ser. 2. 10: 125. 1978.

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Senecio gaffatensis Senecio gaffatensis Vatke, Linnaea 39: 505. 1875.  
Senecio semperflorens Senecio semperflorens Stokes, Bot. Mat. Med. 4: 210. 1812, nom. illegit.Senecio vulgaris Linnaeus 1753. 
Senecio teneriffae Senecio teneriffae Schultz Bipontinus ex Bolle, Bonplnadia 8: 133. 1860. CANARY ISLANDS

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Autauga, Baldwin, Calhoun, Cherokee, Choctaw, Colbert, Conecuh, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, Elmore, Etowah, Franklin, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marengo, Marshall, Mobile, Montgomery, Morgan, Washington

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, AMAL, AUA, TROY, UNA, UWAL

Range of years during which specimens were collected: 1884 - 2021

Barcode / Accession No.
County
Coll. Date
Collector &
Collection No.
Herbarium &
Herbarium Name Used
Image
UWAL0046109 Autauga 20 Mar 2018 Parker, Matthew R.
1561		 UWAL
Senecio vulgaris Linnaeus
UWAL0043718 Baldwin 15 Jul 2005 Larsen, Harry S.
1433		 UWAL
Senecio vulgaris L.
UWAL0054136 Calhoun 08 Mar 2020 Spaulding, Daniel D.
16801		 UWAL
Senecio vulgaris L.
UWAL0034414 Cherokee 01 Apr 1995 Kral, Robert
84380		 UWAL
Senecio vulgaris L.
AMAL00000717 Cherokee 08 Nov 2008 Spaulding, Daniel D.
13133		 AMAL
Senecio vulgaris L.
UWAL0002203 Cherokee 08 Nov 2008 Spaulding, Daniel D.
13133		 UWAL
Senecio vulgaris L.
TROY000044476 Cherokee 08 Nov 2008 Spaulding, Daniel D.
13133		 TROY
Senecio vulgaris Linnaeus
UWAL0037170 Cherokee 29 Mar 2016 Spaulding, Daniel D.
14476		 UWAL
Senecio vulgaris L.
UWAL0000953 Choctaw 19 Feb 2009 Keener, Brian R.
5030		 UWAL
Senecio vulgaris L.
UWAL0009291 Colbert 23 Apr 2010 Keener, Brian R.
5840		 UWAL
Senecio vulgaris L.
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