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Senecio hectoris Buchan.

Modern name

Brachyglottis hectorii (Buchanan) B.Nord.

Synonyms

Brachyglottis hectoris (Buchan.) B. Nord.

An evergreen or semi-deciduous shrub of erect, sparingly branched, rather gaunt habit, growing 6 to 14 ft high in the wild state; young branches stout, covered with loose wool and bases of fallen leaves. Leaves oblanceolate or narrowly oval, tapered to a narrow, pinnately-lobed base, more abruptly pointed at the apex, conspicuously toothed (the teeth stand out at right angles from the leaf margin), 6 to 10 in. long, half as wide, thinly covered with grey cottony down beneath, smooth except for minute warts above; stalk stout, quite short. Inflorescence a terminal flattish or rounded corymb up to 10 in. wide and as much high, opening with us in July. Flower-heads 112 to 2 in. in diameter; the ray-florets twelve to fourteen, pure white, linear, recurved; the florets of the centre (disk) yellow. Flower-stalks densely glandular-downy. Bot. Mag., t. 8705.

Native of the South Island, New Zealand; introduced by Major A. Dorrien-Smith in 1910 and flowered by him three years later. It is a handsome species as regards blossom, although of rather ungainly habit. It is easily recognised by the size and shape of the leaves and especially by their curious lobing at the very base. It is not hardy at Kew, but Sir Herbert Maxwell had a plant 6 ft high by 5 ft wide in his garden at Monreith in Wigtownshire, and there is a large plant on a sheltered wall at Tyninghame House, East Lothian.

S. ‘Alfred Atkinson’ S. hectoris Buchan. × S. perdicioides Hook. f. – An evergreen, much-branched, very floriferous spreading shrub up to 8 or 9 ft high. Young branches purplish. Leaves elliptic-oblong, at first densely covered with buff-coloured hairs, when mature light green above, paler and thinly white-hairy beneath, 5 to 8 in. long, 178 to 214 in. wide, margins somewhat wavy, finely toothed. Inflorescences terminal corymbs up to 12 in. or more wide. Flower-heads 1 to 112 in. across; ray-florets about eight, white; disk yellow.

A garden hybrid, originating in the garden of a Mr Alfred Atkinson of York Bay, Wellington, New Zealand, and with a good horticultural reputation in that country, but not known for certain to be in cultivation in the British Isles.


Genus

Senecio

Other species in the genus