COMMENTS ON THE CONSERVATION STATUS OF SENECIO VELLEIOIDES (FOREST GROUNDSEL) IN TASMANIA

摘要

The genus Senecio, generally referred to as groundsels or fireweeds, is one of the most species-rich genera in Tasmania, with 37 native and 4 exotic taxa (Baker & de Salas 2012). For many years the species were poorly-defined and consequently under-represented in collections in formal herbaria. However, with recent clarification of nomenclature and taxonomy (e.g. see Thompson 2006 and references therein), the identification of Tasmanian species has become easier, and many field botanists are becoming increasingly confident in assigning a name to a specimen. In recent years I have been penning some articles on individual species of Senecio, particularly those with an already legislated "threatened" status (e.g. Senecio psilocarpus-Wapstra (2010a); Senecio georgianus-Wapstra (2010b)) or that may warrant listing on schedules of the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 (e.g. Senecio campylocarpus-Wapstra (2011)). The present article is on an already listed species, Senecio velleioides, but is written for different reasons. This is a species that has always been well-defined and easily identified, is well-represented in formal herbarium collections, but its legislated conservation status has perhaps never matched its distribution and ecology.