h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

... a Dendrosenecio kilimanjari!! It is called a Giant Groundsel or Giant Senecio. It is a member of the Daisy Family or Asteraceae. Typical senecios are daisy-like flowering herbs, and we get some that are succulent or climbers. The giant groundsels evolved from more typical daisies over a million years ago, specifically adapted to live at high altitudes on mountains. They have several adaptations to the cold. On very cold days or nights, the rosettes of leaves close around the growing bud at the tip of the stem to protect it. Water is stored deep in the pith of the stem. The old, dead leaves form a beard-like 'jacket' around the stems which insulate and keep them warm. They also have a natural antifreeze chemical in their sap! They can also resist heat and desiccation, as conditions can change drastically on those high mountains.

What's interesting is that, over time, these giant groundsels have colonized many different mountain ranges in Africa ... while now they are mostly on the mountain tops, during the ice ages they could spread into the lowlands and so reach now mountain ranges; the warm interglacials separated them again and each mountain eventually evolved its own unique species, or even more than one, with Mount Kenya having three, at different altitudes and climatic zones.

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