Roldana petasitis

Roldana petasitis, also known as the velvet groundsel or Californian geranium,[3] is a species of the genus Roldana and family Asteraceae that used to be classified in the genus Senecio. It is native to Central America.

Roldana petasitis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Roldana
Species:
R. petasitis
Binomial name
Roldana petasitis
(Sims) H.Rob. & Brettell
Synonyms[1][2]

Senecio petasitis (Sims) DC.
Cineraria petasitis Sims

Description
Leaf detail

Preferring constant heat and thriving in sheltered gardens, it is an evergreen subshrub with weak stems. Growing up to 1.8 m tall, it features large softly hairy, venated, palmate leaves that are 20 cm long and wide at most, with seven or more broad, blunt lobes.[4]

Inflorescences

The 8 to 10 mm long, yellow flowerheads, like daisies, of about 6 ray ligulate petals are borne in foliaceous panicles. The plant blooms from winter to early spring.[3]

Varieties

'Roldana p. var. cristobalensis' is a variety of this plant which features leaves with purple undersides.[5][6] 'Roldana petasitis var. oaxacana' and 'sartorii' are other varieties.[7][8]

Distribution

The plant is native to the subtropical highlands (Sierra Madre del Sur) of Oaxaca in Mexico, south to the tropics in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua.[9][10]

Climatically, it is found in the tropical savanna climates grading into the drier semi-arid or temperate wet/dry areas, where it is present from Veracruz in the north to Nicaragua in the south, in both pine-oak and mountain cloud forests between 1,000m and 2,500m. The 'cristobalensis' variety is found in Chiapas, the southernmost Mexican state, and in Guatemala between elevations 1,000m and 1,600m.[11] It is naturalized in parts of southeastern Australia and New Zealand.[12]

Neotropic
Mexico Southwest: Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, Oaxaca
Mesoamerica: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
  • Bunch of flowers
    Bunch of flowers
  • Bushy habit
    Bushy habit
  • Leaves
    Leaves
  • Sprawling habit
    Sprawling habit
  • Pollination
    Pollination
  • In a forest
    In a forest
  • In San Diego Botanic Garden
    In San Diego Botanic Garden
  • Leaves with purple shades
    Leaves with purple shades

References
  1. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). "PLANTS Profile, Roldana petasitis". The PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  2. "Roldana petasitis". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2008-05-23.
  3. Velvet Groundsel Better Homes & Gardens. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  4. Roldana petasitis (Sims) H.Rob. & Brettell PlantNET. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  5. Roldana petasitis var. cristobalensis (Greenm.) FunstonBoard of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  6. Senecio cristobalensis syn. Roldana petasitis var. cristobalensis Special Plants.net by Derry Watkins. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  7. Roldana petasitis var. oaxacana (Hemsl.) Funston Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  8. Roldana petasitis var. sartorii (Sch.Bip. ex Hemsl.) Funston Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  9. Steven Foster's Images of Senecio petasitis, Roldana petasitis, Velvet Grounsel, California geranium Steven Foster Photography
  10. Taxonomic Revision of Roldana (Asteraceae: Senecioneae), a Genus of the Southwestern U.S.A., Mexico, and Central America1 Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden by A. Michele Funston. January 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  11. Roldana cristobalensis (formerly Senecio cristobalensis…now, Roldana petasitis var. cristobalensis) GardenRiots Horticultural Forays Into a Changing Urban World
  12. Roldana petasitis (Sims) H. Rob. & Brettell Environmental Weeds of Australia.

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