Perennial succulent native to South Africa, as the Plantarium (online plant determinant) points out, belongs to the Astrovian biological genus, like cineraria. The unusual and memorable appearance of the ampel plant most closely resembles threads with green beads strung on them of different diameters.
The main types of godson
It is hard to believe that the representatives of the clan are close relatives. So significant are their external differences and preferences for the conditions of detention. The name of the genus Senecio comes from the word "senex", meaning "old man" in Latin. This name is given to a large group of very unlike each other plants for a common sign - silvery (as if gray) pubescence or "balding" type of flowers.
Senecio rowleyanus
The Godson Rowley
The succulent is pale green in color with leaf-balls up to 6 mm in diameter, native to the African Namib desert. Refers to blooming. In May, under favorable conditions, he expels flower stalks with single, a little like a dandelion small white flowers that have a very pleasant delicate aroma. In indoor floriculture, it is valued for the unusual decorative look of green shoots.
Important! The plant is poisonous, therefore, it is categorically not recommended to keep it where there are pets and children that can tear off the "bead" and eat it.
The root system is superficial, which largely determines the methods of agricultural technology. Pots are required wide and shallow, the soil is poor in nutrients, and humidity is in the range of 50-60%.
Rawley Variegate
A kind of ordinary Rowley succulent, which has several external differences. "Pearls" shimmer in several shades of green from the lightest to the deepest dark color. Able to form bulky bedspreads as a groundcover. Homeland - Namibia and the desert regions of Southeast Africa, mostly mountainous terrain with an almost complete lack of precipitation. Very unpretentious.
Senecio Rowleyanus Variegate
Spherical leaves inside have many layers that delay the evaporation of moisture. The surface is quite dense. There is a small point at the tip of the sheet. The stems easily twist and look best in ampel form. The shoot reaches 1 m. The tubular white-violet flower in the center has an outstanding purple pestle.
Large-tongued godson
According to the description, this tall evergreen liana has very fleshy leaves and reaches a length of 8 cm. The color is mottled or even green, there are yellow-white stripes and spots. The shape of the sheet plate is triangular, pentagonal is found. Main vein reddish, petiole purple. The central segment of the sheet protrudes slightly, creating the effect of the tongue, which gave the name its name.
The homeland of the macroglossus creeper is South Africa, especially the Natal province, therefore the second popular name of the plant is "Natal Ivy". Indeed, the appearance is very similar to ivy, but the difference is in the leaves, which are exactly the same as in all succulents: thick, filled with moisture, have a typical waxy coating.
Senecio macroglossus
For your information! Surprisingly, this species of godson has a third name - gluonia (Kleinia). So it was named by K. Linney in honor of the famous botanist J. T. Klein. It belongs to him a great merit in the study of succulent species of godchildren.
Liana blooms in winter and March with small light yellow flowers resembling daisies. Like many other godchildren, this one is also poisonous. When eaten, it causes poisoning, and contact of the juice with the skin leads to irritation and allergic reactions.
Godson spring
A kind of nivyanokolistnogo godson. An annual or biennial that grows no more than 45 cm in height. The root is fibrous-rod. It has one or several erect stems, initially cobwebly pubescent. Light green leafy leaves with serrated lobes, usually die by the beginning of flowering. Thyroid baskets are collected from yellow-tongued and tubular flowers. It is ubiquitous in Europe, Asia, North Africa. It prefers hillsides, sand meadows, and is often found along roadsides.
Senecio leucanthemifolius
Fruits - achenes with a volatile. The variety has extremely high fertility, so the plant is considered to be a common weed. It blooms usually from April to September, and bears fruit from May until October.
There are other representatives of the Krestovnik clan that are very original in their external data. For instance:
Mealy
It is a shrub native to Argentina. Appearance is very effective thanks to the voluminous crown of gray-silver strongly dissected leaves. Unlike other succulents, it can tolerate even light frosts.
Adhesive
Annual grass 60-80 cm tall, considered a weed. The stem is one - upright. The pubescence is thick and sticky. The leaf is long (up to 9 cm) pinnate, dark green in color. Numerous baskets are collected in a corymbose yellow inflorescence. Widely distributed in the temperate zone, in the Far East, found in North America. Prefers moist river banks.
Senecio viscosus
The godson of Jacob
It belongs to a separate genus Jacobae (Jacobaea), sometimes it is called as a meadow godson. Poisonous herbaceous perennial or biennial. Has a strong branched rhizome. In height, it can reach 20-100 cm. It is sometimes naked and cobwebly pubescent. The straight ribbed stalk sometimes has branches. Basal ovoid leaves are collected in a rosette and die by the beginning of flowering. Stem leaves are blunt or notched up to 8 cm long. The inflorescence is a corymbose panicle collected from numerous yellow baskets. Seeds have a lush crest with sticky hairs.
Jacobaea (Senecio) Vulgaris
Ashes godson
The second name is the seaside Jacobian. Beautiful and very poisonous shrub or shrub up to 60 cm high with silvery strongly dissected leaves, which have a strong pubescence. It is found in the natural environment on the rocky slopes of the Mediterranean coast. Baskets of yellow are a bit like daisies. Small corollas in diameter up to 15 mm.
Jacobaea Maritima
Herrein's godson
Nice succulent with elongated and slightly pointed leaf beads strung on threadlike stems. Leaflets are similar to gooseberries because of longitudinal slightly darker narrow stripes. It is sometimes called clove. Shoots extend up to 1 m in length. It is cultivated mainly as an ampel plant.
Senecio herreianus
Blue godson
Succulents, also known as Senecio Talinoides. It grows to 45 cm in height. Leaves of bluish color and similar to a pointed pencil form up to 10 cm in length. Growing, forms a fairly dense carpet. It blooms in summer with small nondescript white flowers. It grows in the mountainous terrain of South Africa in a very narrow temperature range from −1 ° C to 10 ° C.
Senecio Mandraliscae (Blue)
Swamps
A rare plant listed in the Red Book, which has found application in medicine. Yellow baskets with a diameter of up to 2.5 cm have longer petals than other types. The erect stem extends up to 2 cm in height. Rhizome is powerful, creeping. Whole long leaves with serrated serrated margin. Prefers moist banks of water bodies, floodplain meadows. It blooms in July and August, and bears fruit in late summer. Seeds with fluffs are carried by the wind over long distances.
Senecio paludosus
Bloody godson
A perennial herb or shrub plant belongs to the genus Astrov and cineraria. It has about 50 species. Homeland - Canary Islands. A short flowering period usually occurs in the winter. In height, it is often small - 30-40 cm. A large rough sheet with a serrated edge on a long stalk has a heart-shaped shape and a saturated green color. A large complex umbrella is made up of flowers that have a different plain or motley color in diameter up to 7 cm each.
Note! Widespread as a decorative potted culture.
Cineraria hybrida
The godson is rhomboid
Perennial rhizome polycarpic - endemic of the Caucasus. Numerous erect stems can extend up to 2.5 m in height. Petiole ordinary leaves wide-ovate have pubescence. The basal leaves are much larger, up to 30 cm in length, and the upper ones are smaller, up to 8 cm. The thyroid-paniculate inflorescences consist of small yellow baskets. The seeds are tiny and already have a spine, carried by the wind. It prefers mountain forests and pre-alpine lowlands at an altitude of 1500-2500 m above sea level.
Senecio rhombifolius
Erukolistny godson
Belongs to the Asteraceae Dumort family. Perennial herbaceous rhizome plant with straight bare or pubescent stems 40-100 cm high, honey plant. The healing properties are widely known, including in Tibetan medicine. Basal early withering leaves of lyre-pinnately dissected form. Yellow baskets are collected in a corymbose inflorescence. It blooms from June to August. The habitat is vast: Central Asia, the Caucasus, the European part of Russia, Siberia. Prefers steppe slopes. Carries saline soil.
Senecio Erucifolius
Godfather
A meadow-steppe biennial herbaceous plant about 20 cm high. In 2002, it is listed in the Red Book of the Ryazan Region. At the roots, the leaves have an ovoid or more oblong shape, gradually tapering to the petiole. The stem leaf is much narrower. In the first year of life, a rosette of basal leaves grows, and only in the second year does a flower-bearing shoot appear. Yellow baskets grow in small numbers at the ends of the shoots. The flowering period is from July to August. Faded plants dry out. Prefers slopes of ravines.
Senecio Integrifolius
Flat cross
Caucasian perennial herb, morphologically similar to the rhomboid representative, and the habitat also coincides. Upright ribbed stems up to 2 m tall grow on grayish-brown thick rhizomes. Dark green leaves are pubescent. Their shape is triangular-umbilical in the lower and ovoid-lanceolate in the upper. On each shoot, up to 300 inflorescences can be formed with 8-14 yellow baskets. It blooms in the first half of summer, the seeds ripen from August to September, distributed by self-sowing. It forms thickets in tall grass meadows at an altitude of 1500-2500 m above sea level.
Note! Valuable raw materials used in medicine for the production of dosage forms.
Senecio platyphylloides
Godson Rowley: Home Care
In general, succulent care is traditional. Common godson is a plant adapted to survive in conditions of prolonged drought on nutrient-poor soils.
Lighting level
From the first days of March to the end of September, it is necessary to provide bright, but diffuse lighting. The house is ideally suited for eastern and western windowsills. If in the room the windows face south, then the flowerpots are placed in the distance. In winter, to prolong the daylight hours (8-10 hours), a backlight is arranged.
Important! If there is not enough light, then the shoots will stretch, turn pale and lose their attractive appearance.
Temperature and humidity
From spring to late autumn, the optimal temperature regime is in the range of 22-25 ° C. In winter, a decrease to 10-15 ° C is required. When cooled below these indicators, the succulent dies. Humidity for him does not matter, does not need spraying. Watered only after drying of the soil, and in winter not more than 1 time per month.
Soil and top dressing
The soil is selected poor in nutrients, loose with a neutral acid-base balance (pH = 5.0). Suitable substrate for cacti. Once every 3-4 weeks, fertilizers are applied, and nitrogen is preferred.
Plant transplant
A change of pot will be required when the earthen lump is completely filled with roots. In this case, a decision is made to rejuvenate the succulent, separating the excess parts, or reload into a larger container. This is usually done once a year or after a year.
Propagation options
Very tenacious succulent easily rooted. If the shoot is put on the soil, then after a short time it will start up roots.
Cuttings
It is not difficult to get the right amount of planting material, because under good living conditions for the succulent plant, its annual shoot growth is on average 30 cm. Usually, cuttings are planted in spring or summer. The branches cut from the tops of the shoots are taken 5-10 cm long. The lower leaves are removed and the end is immersed in the soil. Rooting takes about four weeks. By pinching the ends, tillering of the crown is achieved.
Layering
The step-by-step instruction is very simple:
- It is enough to put a pot next to it with a suitable substrate, put a free shoot on top of it, attaching it to the soil with a hairpin.
- After a month, the rooted branch is separated from the mother plant.
The godson is a plant that is not difficult to care for. Fast growth, undemanding to the conditions of detention - its strengths. Spectacular garlands of green "beads" will decorate the interior and give it personality.
