Purple Groundsel

Scientific Name:

Senecio elegans

Purple Groundsel plant
Photo: A J Brown

Other Common Names:

Wild Cineraria, Purple Ragwort, Red-purple Ragwort

Status:

Native to South Africa. Naturalised in Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria.

Plant Description:

An erect annual herb, commonly from 30-100 cm high with ribbed stems becoming woody with age. Leaves are variable in shape but generally oblanceolate (backward pointing spear-head) to obovate and 5-10 cm long and 1.5-5 cm wide. Leaf margins are toothed or variously lobed and surfaces are slightly rough to the touch to softly hairy.

Flower-heads clustered on 2-15 cm long branches and 10-15 cm diameter. ‘Petals’ (actually individual flowers) are bright pink to purple. Fruit are achenes about 2 mm long and softly hairy.

Habitat:

Scattered on coastal sand dunes.

Comments:

This species is drought and summer dry tolerant, withstanding windy and sandy areas well.

Purple Groundsel flowers
Photo: A J Brown

Purple Groundsel leaf
Photo: A J Brown

Purple Groundsel leaves
Photo: A J Brown

This page contains material sourced from the Victorian Resources Online (VRO) website, originally published by the State Government of Victoria.

The content is provided under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia licence (CC BY 4.0 AU).

This material is presented in an archived form and is no longer maintained or updated. It is provided for general information only and should not be relied upon as current advice.

This site is hosted by the Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI), Federation University Australia. It is not endorsed by Agriculture Victoria.

Agriculture Victoria does not accept liability for any loss, damage or consequences arising from the use of, or reliance on, this material.