Creeping Groundsel

Naming

It is a problem weed in New Zealand, and is naturalised in parts of North Africa and Southern Europe. In Australia, "Senecio tamoides" is sometimes misapplied and is considered to be "Senecio angulatus". Cape ivy is very similar to "Delairea odorata", "Senecio tamoides" and "Senecio macroglossus". Other common names include climbing groundsel, angled senecio, Algerian senecio, Jordanian senecio and scrambling groundsel.

Distribution

Cape ivy is native to the Cape Province in South Africa, hence its name. It has been naturalized in areas with the Mediterranean climate, such as those in, or proximate to, the Mediterranean Basin: Southern Italy, France, Spain, Croatia, Portugal, Albania, Tunisia and Algeria.

Outside of the Mediterranean, it is found in some coastal areas in southeastern Australia, where it is spreading and listed as a significant environmental weed in Victoria. It is an emerging alien species in South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales and southern Western Australia. It is reported to be invasive in New Zealand, where it has been naturalized in the Marlborough District and Chatham Island. In California, Albania and Chile, it is reported to be escaping.

The plant prefers soils of black calcareous and grey sand, sandy clay and limestone, where it will be found in coastal areas on cliff faces, mudflats, wet depressions in dunes, near swamps, in landfills, scrubland and near settlements, especially near the sea.

Evolution

Cape ivy was introduced in Malta in the 15th century as an ornamental plant. In Queensland, the plant may have increased in popularity following the Boer War, as there were anecdotal accounts that it was introduced from South Africa by the soldiers who returned to Australia after 1902. Moreover, it was displayed in garden pillars in Brisbane newspapers between 1906 and 1910, praising the plant for the beauty of both its foliage and its yellow clusters of blooms. Though these reports may have falsely applied the "S. angulatus" name to "Senecio mikanioides", which was a weed at that time on the east coast.

It was most likely introduced to the United States after 1930, as it is not listed in the first edition of "Hortus", although it is rarely cultivated in that country. The plant was collected as a weed in Melbourne's southern suburb of Mornington in 1936, and was displayed in newspaper column submissions in areas between Bendigo and Swan Hill in the 1940s and 1950s. In Melbourne metropolitan area, it became prevalent on coastal banks and on decomposed rock gullies of suburban creeks. It was introduced in New Zealand in 1940 as an ornamental.