Kleinia neriifolia also known as
Verode or
Berode and previously known as
Senecio kleinia is one of
flowering plantThe flowering plants or angiosperms are the most diverse group of land plants. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of seed plants...
species of the genus
KleiniaKleinia is a genus of flowering plant in the Asteraceae family.It contains the following species:It used to contain the following species:* Senecio articulatus Sch. Bip.**Kleinia articulata Haw....
and in the daisy family (
AsteraceaeThe family Asteraceae or Compositae is the second largest family of flowering plants, in terms of number of species....
). It is native
endemicEndemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, habitat type, nation, or other defined zone. To be endemic to a place or area means that it is found only in that part of the world and nowhere else. For example, many species of lemur...
to the
Canary IslandsThe Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union. The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco and the...
and it used to be in the
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
SenecioSenecio is a genus of the daisy family that includes ragworts and groundsels. The flower heads are normally rayed, completely yellow, and the heads are borne in branched clusters...
One of the succulent
Senecio,
S. kleinia has articulated branches (constrictions that make them look like rows of sausages)
and thick, stubby, elongated leaves which rest directly on the main stem or branch without a
petioleIn botany, the petiole is the small stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly...
or footstalk.
Kleinia neriifolia also known as
Verode or
Berode and previously known as
Senecio kleinia is one of
flowering plantThe flowering plants or angiosperms are the most diverse group of land plants. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of seed plants...
species of the genus
KleiniaKleinia is a genus of flowering plant in the Asteraceae family.It contains the following species:It used to contain the following species:* Senecio articulatus Sch. Bip.**Kleinia articulata Haw....
and in the daisy family (
AsteraceaeThe family Asteraceae or Compositae is the second largest family of flowering plants, in terms of number of species....
). It is native
endemicEndemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, habitat type, nation, or other defined zone. To be endemic to a place or area means that it is found only in that part of the world and nowhere else. For example, many species of lemur...
to the
Canary IslandsThe Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union. The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco and the...
and it used to be in the
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
SenecioSenecio is a genus of the daisy family that includes ragworts and groundsels. The flower heads are normally rayed, completely yellow, and the heads are borne in branched clusters...
Description
One of the succulent
Senecio,
S. kleinia has articulated branches (constrictions that make them look like rows of sausages)
and thick, stubby, elongated leaves which rest directly on the main stem or branch without a
petioleIn botany, the petiole is the small stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly...
or footstalk. Leaves growing clustered in crowded circles at the tops of the branches. Trunk a meter high, and lanceolate leaves up to long. Fragrant grey white flowers, blooms at any time between March and October.
DeciduousDeciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
, the leaves fall at the beginning of the dry season.
As with most arid habitat plants, reproduction is by reseeding only..
Habitat
Berode grows abundantly in the Tabaibal-Cardonal zone or the arid, subtropical with steep and eroded substrates which are more pronounced and dominant in the eastern archipelago. The vegetation can be compared with that of the arid areas of
SudanSudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...
,
EthiopiaEthiopia , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the northeast. Its size is 1,100,000 km² with an...
, Arabia and
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
and is typical of the
steppeIn physical geography, a steppe is a biome region characterised by grassland plain without trees . The prairie can be considered a steppe. It may be semi-desert, or covered with grass or shrubs or both, depending on the season and latitude...
in the
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
n continent.
Observations have been made about the relationships or communities that are formed between plants in such challenging conditions. In the case of the Canary Islands, the dominant Succulent tree (
Euphorbia canariensisEuphorbia canariensis, commonly known as the Canary Island Spurge or as Hercules Club to horticulturalistsis a succulent member of the family Euphorbiaceae and genus Euphorbia that grows natively in the arid and humid environment of the lowest areas in the Canary Islands which it is also endemic...
) with a supporting community of fellow
halophileHalophiles are extremophile organisms that thrive in environments with very high concentrations of salt. The name comes from Greek for "salt-loving". While the term is perhaps most often applied to some halophiles classified into the Archaea domain, there are also bacterial halophiles and some...
s: Verode (
Senecio kleinia), Salt (
Schizogyne sericea), Orijama (
Cneorum pulverulentum), the Rubiaceae "Balo" (
Plocama pendula) and also Tasaigo "typical" (
Rubia fruticosa). It is indisputable that the tabaibales and cardonales are not
climaxClimax vegetation is the vegetation which establishes itself on a given site for given climatic conditions in the absence of anthropic action after a long time ....
(the highest point of anything conceived of as growing or developing or unfolding), but more like stadiums (a large structure for open-air sports or entertainments) or
tesseraA tessellation or tiling of the plane is a collection of plane figures that fills the plane with no overlaps and no gaps. One may also speak of tessellations of the parts of the plane or of other surfaces. Generalizations to higher dimensions are also possible. Tessellations frequently appeared in...
e degradation of a former climax in harmony with its peculiar
aridA region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
climate. For
topographicalTopography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
position of cardonales, always in displaced situations, and the more open and typical serial or subserial of tabaibales, it seems close to the first climax potential. Species that are integrating communities also inclined to such subordination.
Horticulture
The plant is used in gardens with dry conditions. The plant requires a minimum exposure of the sun. The minimum winter temperature it can endure is .
S. Kleinia has been successfully cultivated as a houseplant and as landscaping. It is on a list of suggested fire safe landscaping.
External links