This plant is growing in the bush against the side of the house and started flowering week or so before I took the photos. The starbursts of tiny yellow flowers are pretty stunning in the bush but I also really like the shape of the leaves. Up close the plant seems a bit straggly and messy although maybe it’s just the ones at our place - the parts seem more interesting than the whole. When you’re standing back and just see the flowers in amongst the bush they look great.
It’s a member of the daisy family, so the flowers are shaped like daisies. I managed to identify it with the help of the amazing Weeds Key on the Landcare Research website - you get a list of identifying features of the plant and tick as many as possible after which it gives you various possible options for what sort of plant it is. Fortunately there are photos of most of them to help.
Roldana Petasitis is considered a weed in New Zealand, mostly because it pushes out native plants. It comes from Mexico and Central America (although the Auckland Council website says South Africa), where it grows in tropical mountainous areas. How it came to New Zealand I don’t know
Originally called Senecio petasitis, it was renamed by Dr. Pablo de La Llave (1773 – 1833), a Mexican priest and naturalist. He gave the plant the name Roldana to honor Eugenio Montaña y Roldan Otumbensi, who died in 1825 and was thought to be a hero in a battle on the plains of Apam near Mexico City.
At our place there is just one patch of the plants but I’ve seen a few others around, including one section that has several bushes at the front of the property that look quite stunning in flower. In fact a couple of the photos are of that plant, although the flowers had lost most of their pollen by the time I went there.
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