Senecio scaposus – A stemless or nearly stemless small succulent with 2-4 inch long fleshy banana-shaped bright silvery white leaves that angle upward in tufts. The showy yellow daisy flowers appear in summer.
Plant in full sun (coastal) to light shade in well-drained soil and water occasionally to infrequently. Hardy to at least the mid 20's° F. A great little container plant. Keep dry as possible in winter - plants growing in small pots with well-drained soil can tolerate winter rains.
Senecio scaposus comes from the Eastern Cape Providence of South Africa. The current treatment of this plant based on the DNA evidence shows it is only distantly related to Senecio and the species was reclassified in 2012 in an article by Bertil Nordenstam and Pieter Pelser titled "Caputia, a new genus to accommodate four succulent South African Senecioneae (Compositae) species" in Compositae Newsletter (V50: N59.). In this article the author created the new genus Caputia, making the current name of this plant Caputia scaposa. The genus name is a reference to the four species in this new genus all coming from around the Cape Region of South Africa. Also joining it in this new genus are two other plants we have long grown as Senecio, Senecio medley-woodii and Senecio tomentosa (AKA S. haworthii) but we continue to list all of these plants as Senecio for convenience until such times as these names get better recognized. We received this plant in 2004 from Diane Dunhill and grew it until 2021.
The information about Senecio scaposus displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant. |