Family: Asteraceae

Origin, Description & Uses
Senecio glastifolius is native to the Cape Province of South Africa, where it grows in a variety of coastal and montane habitats. It is an upright, herbaceous perennial in the daisy family, producing tall stems with blue-green, somewhat fleshy leaves and clusters of bright pink to purple daisy-like flowers. The plant is often grown as an ornamental for its striking floral display and extended blooming period, and it can also be used in pollinator-friendly gardens where its flowers attract bees and other insects.

Risks & Threats
This species has a history of naturalizing and spreading in other regions with similar climates, where it can form dense stands and compete with native vegetation. It produces abundant wind-dispersed seeds and can establish in disturbed sites, roadsides, and open habitats. While Senecio glastifolius is currently not known to be naturalized in the Hawaiian Islands, it does possess traits that are cause for concern, including prolific seed production and adaptability to a range of conditions, which could detrimentally impact tropical island ecosystems if it were to establish. When available, selecting a low-risk or native alternative is recommended to help protect Hawaiʻi’s unique ecosystems.

High Risk Traits:

• Naturalized outside native range
  
• Weed of gardens, agriculture, and natural areas
  
• Congeneric weeds exist
  
• Shade-tolerant
  
• Wide soil tolerance
  
• Forms dense thickets
  
• Produces viable seed
  
• Self-compatible
  
• Vegetative reproduction
  
• Dispersed unintentionally, intentionally, as contaminant, and by wind
  
• Tolerates mutilation, cultivation, and fire

Low Risk Traits:

• Not tropical-adapted
  
• Palatable to grazers
  
• Non-toxic (animals and humans)
  
• No fire hazard
  
• Not dispersed by water, birds, animals, or gut passage
  
• Low seed production, no persistent seed bank