Senecio pulcher is an ornamental plant native to the wet valleys & slopes and flooded rocky[1] habitats in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. Cited in Flora Brasiliensis[2] by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius. After dusty miller (S. cineraria), S. pulcher is perhaps one of the most popular species of the genus for horticulture along with German ivy (Senecio mikanioides) and purple ragwort (Senecio elegans) or it was in 1917.[3]
A robust 2feet to 4feet tall[3] erect herb perennial with a stem[1] covered with 'cobwebby' hairs. Its scarce leaves 4inches to 10inches long, shallow lobes along the margin with teeth and a thick taper at the tip.[3]
The late summer inflorescence very striking;[1] the radiate flower heads, 2inches to 3inches across with many long red-purple rays and a yellow disc.[3]
Senecio pulcher grows at altitudes between 0feet and 2600feet[4] in Southern Brazil, Uruguay and the southern mountains in Argentina.[3]
Senecio pulcher is grown as an ornamental plant in the United States and Europe;flowering in late summer;[1] it is known to be hardy in southern New England in protected places with well drained soils,[3] but its beauty can be marred by frost and bad weather.[5]
A native perennial, as a captive, S. pulcher is an annual who is hesitant to ripen its seed;[5] the gardeners continue the species with inch long root cuttings over-wintered in a pan of light sandy soil in a greenhouse.[5] [6]