Senecio campylocarpus (bulging fireweed) is a semi-aquatic perennial herb, known in Tasmania from three extant sites and a site that may now be extinct, all from the northern Midlands and greater Launceston area. In Tasmania, the species occurs in flood-prone lowland grassy habitats associated with major river systems. The data suggest that the total population in Tasmania is small, and likely to number fewer than 1,000 plants and occupy much less than 1 ha in total, placing the species at risk from chance events, the risk exacerbated as fireweed plants may not be seen or only persist in low numbers between disturbance events. Ongoing agricultural activities on private land risk the further loss or degradation of habitat and perhaps explain the now fragmented distribution of the species in Tasmania. As well as preventing the destruction of known and potential habitat by clearing, inundation or severe degradation, the most important needs of the species are to prevent overgrazing by stock, competition from weeds, and changed hydrology of known sites.
