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Senecio lamarckianus, the bois de chèvre (English: wood/antler of goat), is a species of flowering plant in the aster family and a member of the genus Senecio. It is endemic to the island of Mauritius and is threatened by habitat loss.[1]

Bois de chèvre
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 2.3)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Senecio
Species:	S. lamarckianus
Binomial name
Senecio lamarckianus Bullock
Synonyms[2]
Conyza appendiculata Lam. Senecio appendiculatus (Lam.) DC. Synarthrum appendiculatum (Lam.) Cass.

S. lamarckianus is named after the French philosopher, botanist and zoologist Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck.[3]

Description

S. lamarckianus is a many-branched perennial shrub that grows to be 2 m (6.6 ft) to 3 m (9.8 ft) tall.[3]

Leaves and stems: The stalk and branches are densely covered with white hairs. Oblong leather-like leaves[3] are silvery greenish colored,[4] 11 cm (4.3 in) to 13 cm (5.1 in) long by 3 cm (1.2 in) to 5.2 cm (2.0 in) wide and are attached to the branch with a leaf stalk[3] 1 cm (0.39 in) to 2 cm (0.79 in) long, which bear on opposite sides small, well-spaced lanceolate lobules. Pointed at the tips and slender at the base; serrated, more so at the tips,[4] mostly hairless on the tops and densely hairy underneath.[3]

Flowers: Numerous flower heads which cluster into a flat top, each on its own flower stalk; center flower heads tending to open first.[3] Inflorescence is completely covered in white hairs and appears in groups of seven.[4] Clusters composed of ray florets, with 2.8 mm (0.11 in) long yellow rays, tube 2 mm (0.079 in) long. Internal florets, with yellow 3.9 mm (0.15 in) corolla with 1.6 mm (0.063 in) long lobes.[3]

Fruits: Achenes can vary between 1.2 mm (0.047 in) and 1.8 mm (0.071 in) in length, are smooth and bear a pappus of 2.7 mm (0.11 in) to 3 mm (0.12 in) long with white hairs.[4]

Distribution

Endemic to Mauritius, now very rare, it is found in dry mountainous regions around the summit peaks of the island. Localities: Mondrain, Pieter Both Mountain, Gubbies, Piton du Fouge Ridge Forest,[1] crests above Port Louis,[3] most of them in Piton du Fouge. There is a chance there are more individuals in more remote areas.[1]

References

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