New Combinations in Dendrosenecio (Asteraceae)

Dendrosenecio (Hauman ex Hedberg) B. Nord. comprises 11 species of giant-rosette plants that grow on tropical mountains in east and central Africa. Commonly known as giant senecios or giant groundsels, the size of these plants makes all herbarium specimens inherently fragmentary, and their recent, rapid, adaptive radiation means that scant DNA variation was detected in the original molecular systematic study. The provisional 1993 classification adopted a conservative approach for two taxa. In this paper, the new combinations of D. adnivalis (Stapf) E. B. Knox subsp. petiolatus (Hedberg) E. B. Knox and D. elgonensis (T. C. E. Fr.) E. B. Knox subsp. amblyphyllus (Cotton) E. B. Knox emend that treatment to more accurately reflect the evolutionary history of these plants.