Kleinia anteuphorbium (Senecio anteuphorbium)
Senecio is one of the larger genera among the flowering plants, and there has long been debate about what should be included in it. Studies of the DNA of various species have supported the idea that smaller and more cohesive genera would make more sense, and many of the succulent species have now been moved into Kleinia or into Curio. Kleinia was first named as a genus back in 1754, and opinion has gone back and forth as to whether its species should be included in Senecio or kept apart, with the "apart" camp now gaining favor. Most of the species have succulent stems, often with lines than emanate from below the leaf-attachment points and run parallel down the side of the stem (see upper photo). The leaves may be succulent as well, as they are in the case of K. anteuphorbium, and these are deciduous (species in the newly-created genus Curio, in contrast, have succulent leaves that are not deciduous). Kleinia anteuphorbium comes from arid parts of Morocco, where it forms compact clumps of cylindrical stems that are leafless during the hot dry summer months. The flowers come mainly in the fall and winter, and like other Kleinia species they are clustered in a cup known as a capitulum.
-Brian
