Fireweed groundsel

Senecio linearifolius, commonly known as fireweed groundsel or fireweed, is an erect, shortly woody perennial herb or subshrub of the family Asteraceae, endemic to south-eastern Australia, where it occurs in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. The plant typically grows 0.5–2 m tall, with slender, sparingly branched, glabrous to slightly hairy stems. The leaves are alternate, sessile, linear to narrowly lanceolate, 4–15 cm long and 3–15 mm wide, with entire or finely toothed margins; the lower surface is sometimes whitish-tomentose. The plant produces large terminal corymbs of numerous small, bright yellow flower heads, each about 8–12 mm across and containing both ray and disc florets. Flowering occurs principally in spring and summer. Fruits are cylindrical, ribbed achenes bearing a pappus of fine white hairs that aid wind dispersal. The species colonises disturbed ground, road cuttings, recently burnt forest and clearings in sclerophyll woodland, often appearing in profusion after fire.