Senecio productus subsp. productus
Erect, few-branched or simple, ephemeral or annual herb c 30(–50) cm high, ± glabrous. Leaves sessile, attenuate at base sometimes becoming auriculate upwards, linear or very narrow-elliptic to ovate in outline, to 7 cm long, to 4 cm wide, glabrescent, undivided or lobate to sub-pinnatisect; margin entire, denticulate or dentate. Inflorescence corymbose, with 1–20 capitula; capitula radiate; involucre narrowly campanulate or campanulate, 4.5–7.0 mm long; bracts (10–)12–13; bracteoles present. Ray florets 8–13, pale yellow, ligules not developed (corolla-tube not toothed apically) or rarely up to 0.5 mm long; disc florets 18–45, yellow. Cypselas lageniform, those of ray florets 3–4.5 mm long, with 50–90 % of surface covered with papillose hairs that shortly exceed pappus ring; those of disc florets 2.5–3.5 mm long, with 50–90 % of surface covered with papillose hairs that shortly exceed pappus ring; pappus of slender white hairs 3–4 mm long, deciduous. Flowers mostly winter and spring.
Wim, VRiv, MSB, RobP, MuF. Also SA, NSW. Rare along the edges of watercourses in clay soils and in chenopod shrubland, often with Senecio glossanthus, in areas near the Murray River upstream to near Kerang.
Victorian populations of this species usually have ray florets that lack ligules, which assigns these plants to subspecies productus. Specimens collected from Lindsay Point in far north-west Victoria have small ligules around 0.5 mm long, approaching Senecio productus subsp. magnus, which has ligules around 1 mm long and occurs in eastern South Australia further north (Thompson 2005a). Apart from the ligule development, all other morphological features of these Victorian collections are consistent with subsp. productus.
Previously included within S. glossanthus.
