SEN 



SEN 



of a canton, in the diflridt of Clialons fur Saone ; 8 miles 

 S. of Chalons fur Saone. The place contains 2345', and 

 the canton 13,612 inhabitants, on a territory of 2225 kilio- 

 metres, in i8 communes. 



SENECIO, in B'jtany, an ancient name, occurring in, 

 Plniv, derived horn Jhiex, an old man ; ox fencfcerc, to grow 

 old ; which is fnid to have been borrowed from tlie fancied 

 refemblance of its capitate feed-down to the grey or filvery 

 liead of age — Linn. Gen. 424. Schreb. 555. Willd. Sp. 

 PI. V.3.I973. Mart. Mill. Dia. V. 4. Sm. Fl. Brit. 881. 

 Prodr. Fl. Grxc. Sibtb. v. 2. 176. Ait. Hort. Kew. 

 V. 5. 36. Tlumb. Prodr. 157. Purlh. 528. Tounief. 

 t. 260. Juir. 181. Lamarck Ilhillr. t. 676. Gaertn. 

 t. 166. (Jacobxa ; Gsertn. t. 170.)— Clafs and order, 

 Syngencfia Polygamia-Superflua. Nat. Ord. Compofite Dlf- 

 cotde^, Linn. Corymbifera, JuH. 



Gen. Ch. Common calyx calyculate, conical, truncated ; 

 fcales awl-fhaped, numerous, parallel and contrafted into a 

 cylinder at the upper part, contiguous, equal ; not fo nu- 

 merous at the bale, but imbricated, withering at the tip. 

 Cor, compound, higher than the calyx ; Jlorets of the dillc 

 perfcft, tubular, numerous, funuel-fhaped, with a five-cleft, 

 reflexed limb ; thole of the radius, if any, female, ligulate, 

 oblong, flightlv three-toothed. Slam, (iri the perfeft florets) 

 Filaments five, capillary, very fmall ; anthers cylindrical, 

 tubular. P'lfl. (in all the florets) Germen ovate; Ityle 

 thread-fliaped, the length of tlie ftamens ; ftigmas two, ob- 

 long, revolute. Peric. none, except the conical, converging 

 calyx. Seeds in both kinds of florets alike, folitary, ovate, 

 erowned with capillary, long down. Recept. naked, flat. 



Obf. Senecto of Tourncfort and otliers, is deftitute of a 

 common radius to the corolla, whereas their Jacobxa is fur- 

 nilhed with one. This, however, is by no means a fufGcient 

 generic diitincfion. Moll autiiors have accordingly united 

 them into one genus. 



Ell. Ch. Receptacle naked. Down fimple. Calyx cy- 

 lindrical, many-leaved, equal, fcaly at the bafe ; fcales dead 

 at the tip. 



In the Species Plantarum of Linnaeus we meet with only 

 forty fpecies of Senccio, (to which however many others are 

 added in his Supplementum Plantarum,) whereas Willdenow 

 enumerates one hundred and twenty-two. Thefe are divided 

 into the four following fedlions, from each of which we fhall 

 feleft a few fpecies m order to give as clear and concife an ac- 

 count of this extenfive genus as we are able. 



Seft. I. Flor'ihusjlofcuhjjis. Flowers without a radius. 



S, rec/inatus. Grafs-leaved Groundfel. Linn. Suppl. 369. 

 Willd. n. I. (8. graminifolius ; Jacq. Ic. Rar. v. 1. 

 t. 174.) — Corolla naked. Calyx ventricofe, fomewhat im- 

 bricated. Leaves thread-fliaped, linear, quite entire, fmooth. 

 — Native of the Cape of Good Hope, flowering from June 

 to Auguil. Sicm herbaceous, about three feet high, wavy, 

 reclined and branched at the top, yellowilh-green, round. 

 Leaves f.-liile, fcattered, grafiy, fpreading, revolute at the 

 edge, rough, i^/owfrj terminal, panicled, golden-cohjured, 

 with a glaucous calyx. 



S. ptirpureus. Purple Groundfel. Linn. Sp. PI. I 215. 

 Willd. n. 6. (Cacalia villofa ; Jacq. Ic. Rar. v. 3. t. <;8o.) 

 — Corolla naked. Leaves lyrate, hairy ; the upper ones lan- 

 ceolate, toothed. — Native alfo of the Cape, and flowering 

 from June to September. Roat perennial, thick. Stems 

 numerous, ered, a foot high, ftriated. Leaves alternate, 

 lyrate, obtufe, thickilh ; the lower ones on long llalks ; all 

 beautifully veined. Floiuers terminal, corymbofe, purple, 

 rather fmall. 



S. cernuus. Drooping Groundfel, Linn. Suppl. 37c. 



Willd. n. 7. (S. rubens ; Jacq. Hort. Vind. v. 3. t. 98.) — 

 Corolla naked. Leaves elliptical, toothed or ferrated, rather 

 hairy. Stalks elongated, fingle-flowered. — Native of the 

 Eafl; Indies, flowering in July and Auguft. Stem herba- 

 ceous, a foot high, erect. Leaves alternate, ftalked, veined, 

 rough, with two little angulated^i^«/aj at the bafe of each 

 foottlalk. Flowers folitary, terminal, violet-coloured, on 

 long, generally drooping Italks. 



S. Pfeudo- China. Chiiiefe Groundfel. Linn. Sp. PL 

 1216. Willd. n. 18. (S. madrafpatanus, rapi folio, flori- 

 biis maximis, cujus radix a iionnullis China dickur ; Dill. 

 Elth. V. 2.345. ^- ^5^- ^•335-) — Corolla naked. Leaves 

 lyrate, pinnatihd, tootlied- Flower-llalk nearly naked, 

 very long. — Native of the Eafl: Indies, flowering from June 

 to Auguft. Root perennial, tuberous, flelhy, fibrous. 

 Stem none. Leaves radical, large, ftiaped like thofe of a 

 turnip, fmooth. Flower-Pall: flender, more than a foot 

 high, lufl:aiiiing a few -^eWovi Jlo-wers at the top. 



S. vulgaris. Common Groundfel, or Simfon. Linn. 

 Sp. PI. 121 6. Engl. Bot. t. 747. Curt. Lond. fafc. I- 

 t. 61. — Flowers without a radius, fcattered. Leaves 

 finuated in a pinnate form, toothed, embracing the item. 

 A common weed, flowering throughout the year, in any 

 kind of foil or fituation. Root annual, fibrous. Stem ereft, 

 branched, leafy, lomewhat panicled, round, angular, either 

 fmooth or clothed with a cottony down like the back of the 

 foliage. Leaves alternate, bright green ; radical ones 

 ftalked ; thofe of the Hem feflile, auriculate. Floiuers ter- 

 minal, icattered or panicled, yellow. Seeds furrowed, pu- 

 befeent. Seed-down feflile, rough. The great peculiaiuty 

 of Seneclo in having the fcales of the calyx withered, and 

 black at the tip, is very confpicuous in the prefent fpecies, 

 whofe flower-buds and young tops are the food of many 

 Imall birds, and efpecially domellic Canary-birds. In 

 feveral parts of England it is called Simfon, apparently a 

 corruption of the generic name, perhaps through the me- 

 dium of the French Senejfon. 



The remaining fpecies of this fcdlion, defcribed by Willde- 

 now, are, S. angujllfollus, mucronatus, nlveiis, hleraclfolms, 

 erubefcens, perficifoUus, blftorus, panlculatus, bldentatus^ fcaber, 

 vejlltus, vlrgatus, dlvarlcatus, croatlcus, japonlcus, peucedanl- 

 folius, arable us, and vcrhenefollus. 



Seft. 2. Florlhus radlatls, radio Jlatlm revoluto. Flowers 

 with a revolute radius. 



S. vtfcofus. Stinking Groundfel, Linn. Sp. PI. 12 17. 

 Engl. Bot. t. 32. — Radius revolute. Leaves pinnatifid, 

 vifcid. Scales of the calyx lax, and nearly as long as the 

 calyx itfelf, which is hairy. Not uncommon in many parts 

 of Britain, in a chalky or fandy foil ; flowering from July 

 to October. The whole herb is hairy and vifcid, with a 

 very fetid fmell. Root annual. Stem a foot high, much 

 branched, fpreading, furrowed, leafy. Leaves alternate, 

 feflile, very ilightly embracing the Item, pinnatifid, fome- 

 what toothed. Flower-Jlalks folitary, terminal, each bear- 

 ing zjlower of a bright gold colour. 



S. llvldus. Green-fcaled Groundfel. Linn. Sp. PI. 1216. 

 Engl. Bot. t. 2515. (S. corollis revolutis, foliis amplexi- 

 cauhbus lanceolatis dentatis, fquamis calycinis brevillimis in- 

 taftis ; Lmn. Hort. Upf. 261.) — Radius revolute. Leaves 

 clafping the flem, lanceolate, pinnatifid, and toothed. Scales 

 of the calyx fhort ; their points acute and not difcoloured. 

 — Native of Spain, and lately difcovered by W. Middle- 

 ton, efq. in Yorkfliire. It flowers in Oftober. " This 

 new Britifli fpecies," fays the author of Englifli Botany, 

 " is moll like S fyhmtktis, but the elTential and all-fufEcient 

 marks of dillinclion are the dilated bafe of the leaves which 



embrace 



