| Dendrosenecio kilimanjari | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Tribe: | Senecioneae |
| Genus: | Dendrosenecio |
| Species: | D. kilimanjari |
| Binomial name | |
| Dendrosenecio kilimanjari (Mildbr.) E.B.Knox |
|
| Synonyms | |
Dendrosenecio kilimanjari is a giant groundsel found atop Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. It was originally known as Senecio kilimanjari, but a recent botanical reclassification split off some species formerly in Senecio, putting it and various other species in the new genus Dendrosenecio. Both genera are in the family Asteraceae. The giant grounsels of the genus Dendrosenecio evolved, about a million years ago, from a Senecio that established itself on Mount Kilimanjaro, with those that survived adapting into Dendrosenecio kilimanjari. This later colonised other mountains by some means - the standard distance for wind dispersal of seeds is a few metres - and these isolated populations adapted in ways different to the parent population, creating new species.[3]
The names for the giant groundsels have become somewhat confusing: