Dendrosenecio is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family. It is a segregate of Senecio,[1] in which it formed the subgenus Dendrosenecio. Its members, the giant groundsels, are native to the higher altitude zones of ten mountain groups in equatorial East Africa, where they form a conspicuous element of the flora.
They have a giant rosette habit, with a terminal leaf rosette at the apex of a stout woody stem. When they bloom, the flowers form a large terminal inflorescence. Concomitantly, two to four lateral branches are normally initiated. As a result, old plants have the appearance of candelabras the size of telephone poles, each branch with a terminal rosette.
Can confirm these are really cool but equally strange looking. Climbed Kilimanjaro in 2017 and it really was amazing. You go through about four entirely different climates on the way up. You start in dense rainforest until you get above the clouds and it becomes semi arid. Then higher up you get to this area. For the last full day of climbing and a half its completely rocky and barren though. On the very top it feels like what the moon would be like. Almost nothing growing, and glaciers! Really recommend it to anyone who wants to achieve something that doesn't take insane amounts of training but still feels like one of the best things you'll ever accomplish. Edit : link to some pics
Edit two: Two memories that might start a fire in some interested hikers. The first image was taken after setting up camp the first night once we had broken through the clouds. A very humbling feeling watching the sun set from above the clouds while being surrounded by people with the same common goal as you and the unknown of 5 days ahead. A lot of excitement! Memory two, waking up at midnight to start the summit climb at -14 degrees Celsius. As a Zimbabwean / Australian , those types of temperatures are totally foreign to me. You try drink a tea at small rest spots and it's cold in 30 seconds! The memory I won't forget though is looking behind midway up the summit climb and seeing the never ending trail of head lamps dotted down the mountain of everyone below. Really put the height into perspective.
kwagenknight on September 7th, 2020 at 08:52 UTC »
Definitely the type of plant you would imagine seeing on some other planet or millions of years ago!
Cool pic, I never knew about them, thanks!
redditorPleaser on September 7th, 2020 at 09:41 UTC »
Dendrosenecio
Dendrosenecio is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family. It is a segregate of Senecio,[1] in which it formed the subgenus Dendrosenecio. Its members, the giant groundsels, are native to the higher altitude zones of ten mountain groups in equatorial East Africa, where they form a conspicuous element of the flora.
They have a giant rosette habit, with a terminal leaf rosette at the apex of a stout woody stem. When they bloom, the flowers form a large terminal inflorescence. Concomitantly, two to four lateral branches are normally initiated. As a result, old plants have the appearance of candelabras the size of telephone poles, each branch with a terminal rosette.
rcj_93 on September 7th, 2020 at 12:12 UTC »
Can confirm these are really cool but equally strange looking. Climbed Kilimanjaro in 2017 and it really was amazing. You go through about four entirely different climates on the way up. You start in dense rainforest until you get above the clouds and it becomes semi arid. Then higher up you get to this area. For the last full day of climbing and a half its completely rocky and barren though. On the very top it feels like what the moon would be like. Almost nothing growing, and glaciers! Really recommend it to anyone who wants to achieve something that doesn't take insane amounts of training but still feels like one of the best things you'll ever accomplish. Edit : link to some pics
Edit two: Two memories that might start a fire in some interested hikers. The first image was taken after setting up camp the first night once we had broken through the clouds. A very humbling feeling watching the sun set from above the clouds while being surrounded by people with the same common goal as you and the unknown of 5 days ahead. A lot of excitement! Memory two, waking up at midnight to start the summit climb at -14 degrees Celsius. As a Zimbabwean / Australian , those types of temperatures are totally foreign to me. You try drink a tea at small rest spots and it's cold in 30 seconds! The memory I won't forget though is looking behind midway up the summit climb and seeing the never ending trail of head lamps dotted down the mountain of everyone below. Really put the height into perspective.