Three new species of the genus Senecio (Asteraceae, Senecioneae) belonging to Senecio ser. Suffruticosi subser. Caespitosi were discovered in the tributaries of the upper Tambo River, Moquegua Department, South Peru. Descriptions, diagnoses and discussions about their distribution, a table with the morphological similarities with other species of Senecio, a distribution map, conservation status...

Senecio changii (Asteraceae: Senecioneae), a new species from Muli, Sichuan, southwestern China, is described. It is distinguished in Chinese Senecio s.s. by having lyrate-pinnatisect to pinnatisect leaves and a single terminal large discoid capitulum which is somewhat nodding. Evidence from floral micromorphology, karyology and molecular phylogenetic analyses based on the nuclear ITS/ETS seque...

Senecio asirensis Boulos & J.R.I. Wood (family: Asteraceae) is an endemic plant of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia found at a few places. The medicinal value of this plant is due to the presence of a variety of complex secondary metabolites. For the development of DNA barcode for this species the chloroplast spacer sequences rps16 and psbA-trnH were found more variable and effective. Among the various ...

The Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids (PAs) are a group of chemicals found in a variety of plant species throughout the world. These toxic alkaloids are distributed mainly in Senecio (Compositae), Crotalaria (Legominosae) and Heliotropium (Boraginaceae) species. Plants containing these alkaloids cause significant mammalian morbidity and mortality, especially in humans. Upon ingestion, metabolic activatio...

INTRODUCTION Seneciosis is one of the most important plant poisonings in South Africa. Certain Senecio species contain toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) which, besides other toxicological effects, induce acute or chronic hepatotoxicity in livestock and man. In the genus Senecio the occurrence of the PAs senecionine, retrorsine and integerrimine is well known. Senecio latifolius, the most impo...

Robinsonia is a genus of eight species and is endemic to the Juan Fernández Islands. Previous studies based on ITS phylogenies place Robinsonia deeply nested within Senecio, however its monophyly remains uncertain. In this paper, we use phylogenies reconstructed from plastid, ITS-ETS, and combined data to test its monophyly. Plastid phylogenies support Robinsonia as monophyletic, whereas ITS-ET...

Hybridization is known to be involved in a number of evolutionary processes, including species formation, and the generation of novel defence characteristics in plants. The genus Senecio of the Asteraceae family is highly speciose and has historically demonstrated significant levels of interspecific hybridization. The evolution of novel chemical defence characteristics may have contributed to t...

Alkaloid profiles of two Egyptian Senecio species (Senecio aegyptius var. discoideus and S. desfontainei) in addition to a cultivated species (S. cineraria) were studied using capillary GLC and GLC-mass spectrometry with respect to pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). Four alkaloids were identified in S. aegyptius var. discoideus, 8 in S. desfontainei and 13 in S. cineraria. Some of these alkaloids h...