Senecio pokohinuensis
species of plant
Senecio pokohinuensis, also known as the Mokohinau groundsel, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. The plant was first described as a subspecies of Senecio repangae in 1998, and elevated to species status in 2022. It is endemic to the Mokohinau Islands of the Auckland Region, New Zealand.
Taxonomy
Senecio pokohinuensis was first described as a subspecies of Senecio repangae by Peter de Lange and Brian Grant Murray in 1998. The holotype of the species was collected in 1993 by de Lange from Burgess Island in the Mokohinau Islands group, and was found in short grass on a cliffside.
In 2022, de Lange elevated S. pokohinuensis to species level, due to genetic evidence showing that S. repangae and S. pokohinuensis had distinct origins. Both species were hybrids between the Lautusoid and Disciform groups within Senecio, however the hybridisation events were different, and likely involved different species.
Description
S. pokohinuensis is an annual or perennial herb that rises to a height of 0.2–1.2 m (7.9 in – 3 ft 11.2 in). The plant is a dull green, with yellow flowers. The species can be distinguished from Senecio repangae due to differing leaf surfaces, by having shorter capitula bracts, and because the ray florets of S. pokohinuensis are evenly spaced and not recurved.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Senecio pokohinuensis” is species of plant. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Senecio, pokohinuensis and species, not as a finished interpretation.
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The phrase “species of plant” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 16, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q94399859. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1998, 2022 and 1993.
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This entry incorporates text from “Senecio pokohinuensis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.