Introduction
The genus Senecio L. (Senecioneae: Asteraceae) is recognized for its remarkable species richness, comprising approximately 1250 species worldwide and exhibits a nearly cosmopolitan distribution, with its primary centers of diversity found in southern Africa and south America (Pelser et al. 2007). Senecio exhibits a remarkable diversity in life forms ranging from annual to perennial herbs, shrubs, vines, trees or epiphytes and its ability to thrive across a wide range of habitats (aquatic to desert, from low altitudes to alpine and from arctic regions to tropical areas) (Dana et al. 2021). The genus can be identified with a set of characters such as presence of truncate style-branches with short hairs on stigma, stamens with ecaudate anther bases (obtuse or rounded) and balusterform filament collar (Nordenstam 2007).
Senecio is represented by 53 taxa (47 species and 6 varieties) in India (Karthikeyan et al. 2020). Of these, 21 taxa are endemic to the country (Singh et al. 2015). The distribution of Senecio species in India is predominantly confined to two major regions, the Himalayas and the Western Ghats. The Anjaneri Hills, located in the northern Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India, are known for their rich floral diversity (Auti et al. 2020). During botanical surveys conducted by the authors in the Anjaneri Hills, a previously unidentified Seneciospecies was found. The plants resembled Senecio bombayensisN.P.Balakr., but further examination revealed significant differences between the Anjaneri population and S. bombayensis . Accordingly, this population is described here as a new species. Furthermore, cytogenetical differences between the new species and S. bombayensis are also discussed.