To my surprise I found a hairy-legs groundsel in the centre of Ōtautahi-Christchurch city today. It's the first time I've seen the species in the centre city.
Hairy-legs groundsel is a new species to the South Island. It was first spotted near some shipping containers in Hillsborough in 2021 by botanist William Reinders.
The plant I saw today is the second sighting in the centre city. The first was in March this year.
It's scientific name is *Senecio esleri*, named after NZ botanist Alan Esler who first discovered the species in Auckland. It's an Australian native species and how it got to northern NZ is still a bit of a mystery. Perhaps it's a native there. It's certainly new to the South Island though, and likely another sign of the changes happening in our warming city.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/319081966
#botany #Senecio #iNaturalistNZ #iNaturalist #plants