Senna

Ranawara Senna auriculata, copyright J. M. Garg.

Belongs within: Fabales.

Senna is a pantropical genus of leguminous plants including herbs, shrubs and trees, most of which produce bright yellow flowers. Seeds of the Chinese senna S. obtusifolia are ground to produce cassia gum, used as a thickening agent in cooking, or roasted as a coffee substitute, whereas its leaves may be fermented to produce kawal, a meat substitute eaten in Sudan.

Characters (from Hickman 1993): Perennial, shrub, tree, unarmed or spines weak. Leaves even-1-pinnate, alternate; stipules sometimes small or ephemeral; leaflets 2–10 (18) pairs. Inflorescence a raceme or panicle, axillary or terminal. Flowers generally slightly bilateral, generally showy; sepals more or less free; petals free, generally yellow; stamens free, 7 fertile, 3 sterile, anthers generally larger than filaments, opening by terminal pores. Fruits dehiscent or not. Seeds few to many.

<==Senna
    |--S. acclina B00
    |--S. aciphylla B00
    |--S. alata LK14
    |--S. armata [=Cassia armata] H93
    |--S. artemisioides G04
    |    |--S. a. ssp. artemisioides G04
    |    |--S. a. ssp. filifolia G04
    |    |--S. a. ssp. helmsii EF04
    |    |--S. a. ssp. oligophylla EF04
    |    `--S. a. ssp. × sturtii MLP09
    |--S. auriculata PP07
    |--S. barclayana B00
    |--S. bicapsulatus H06
    |--S. chateliana KM08
    |--S. coriaceae B00
    |--S. coronilloides B00
    |--S. corymbosa H06
    |--S. didymobotrya H06
    |--S. glutinosa EF04
    |    |--S. g. ssp. glutinosa EF04
    |    `--S. g. ssp. pruinosa EF04
    |--S. goniodes LK14
    |--S. hirsuta H06
    |--S. leptoclada B00
    |--S. ligustrina J87
    |--S. magnifolia B00
    |--S. marksiana B00
    |--S. multiglandulosa [incl. Cassia tomentosa] H93
    |--S. nemophila B00
    |--S. notabilis LK14
    |--S. obtusifolia LK14
    |--S. occidentalis LK14
    |--S. odorata B00
    |--S. oligoclada LK14
    |--S. pendula H06
    |    |--S. p. var. pendula H06
    |    `--S. p. var. glabrata H06
    |--S. petiolaris B00
    |--S. planitiicola LK14
    |--S. pleurocarpa G04
    |--S. queenslandica B00
    |--S. reticulata B14
    |--S. retusa B00
    |--S. septemtrionalis H06
    |--S. sericea MLP09
    |--S. siamea B00
    |--S. surattensis LK14
    |    |--S. s. ssp. surattensis LK14
    |    `--S. s. ssp. sulfurea LK14
    |--S. symonii LK14
    |--S. timoriensis LK14
    |--S. tora J07
    `--S. venusta LK14

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B14] Bouchard, P. (ed.) 2014. The Book of Beetles: A lifesize guide to six hundred of nature's gems. Ivy Press: Lewes (United Kingdom).

[B00] Braby, M. F. 2000. Butterflies of Australia: their identification, biology and distribution vol. 1. CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood (Victoria).

[EF04] Etten, E. J. B. van, & J. E. D. Fox. 2004. Vegetation classification and ordination of the central Hamersley Ranges, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 87 (2): 63–79.

[G04] Gibson, N. 2004. Flora and vegetation of the Eastern Goldfields Ranges: part 6. Mt Manning Range. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 87 (2): 35–47.

[H06] Henderson, L. 2006. Comparisons of invasive plants in southern Africa originating from southern temperate, northern temperate and tropical regions. Bothalia 36 (2): 201–222.

[H93] Hickman, J. C. (ed.) 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press: Berkeley (California).

[J07] Jadhav, D. 2007. Ethno-medicinal plants used by Bhil tribe of Matrunda, district Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, India. Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 49: 203–206.

[J87] Judd, W. S. 1987. Floristic study of Morne La Visite and Pic Macaya National Parks, Haiti. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum—Biological Sciences 32 (1): 1–136.

[KM08] Keighery, G. J., & W. Muir. 2008. Vegetation and vascular flora of Faure Island, Shark Bay, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 75: 11–19.

[LK14] Lyons, M. N., G. J. Keighery, L. A. Gibson & T. Handasyde. 2014. Flora and vegetation communities of selected islands off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 81: 205–244.

[MLP09] McKenzie, N. L., S. van Leeuwen & A. M. Pinder. 2009. Introduction to the Pilbara Biodiversity Survey, 2002–2007. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 78 (1): 3–89.

[PP07] Pandey, R. P., & P. M. Padhye. 2007. Studies on phytodiversity of Arid Machia Safari Park-Kailana in Jodhpur (Rajasthan). Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 49: 15–78.

Last updated: 30 March 2021.