Senna acclinis

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Rainforest senna
Senna acclinis.jpg
In the North Coast Regional Botanic Garden
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Genus: Senna
Species:
S. acclinis
Binomial name
Senna acclinis
Synonyms [1]

Cassia acclinisF.Muell.

Habit Senna acclinis habit.jpg
Habit

Senna acclinis, commonly known as rainforest cassia [2] or brush senna, [3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to near-coastal areas of eastern Australia. It is a shrub with pinnate leaves and bright golden yellow flowers in groups of two to five and long, narrow seed pods. It is similar to other species of Senna that are environmental weeds.

Contents

Description

Senna acclinis is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 3 m (9.8 ft). Its leaves are pinnate, up to 150 mm (5.9 in) long on a petiole 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) long, with five to seven pairs of broadly elliptic leaflets up to 50 mm (2.0 in) long and 15 mm (0.59 in) wide. There is a gland between the lower one to four pairs of leaflets. From two to five bright golden yellow flowers are arranged on a peduncle 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) long, each flower with ten fertile stamens, the anthers usually of unequal lengths and 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long. Flowering occurs in spring and summer the fruit is a more or less flat pod 120–150 mm (4.7–5.9 in) long and 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) wide that ripens in summer and autumn. This species can be mistaken for other introduced Senna species that are environmental weeds. [4] [2] [5]

Taxonomy

Rainforest senna was first formally described in 1863 by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name Cassia acclinis in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae . [6] [7] In 1998, Barbara Rae Randell and Bryan Barlow changed the name to Senna acclinis in Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden . [8] [9]

Distribution and habitat

Senna acclinis is found in near-coastal areas of New South Wales and Queensland, growing in or on the edges of subtropical and dry rainforests. [10] [4] The plant is distributed in several subregions, including Barrington, Karuah Manning, Mummel Escarpment, Wyong, and Yengro. [11]

Ecology

Senna acclinis is known to be a pollination plant for several insect species, including native bees [12] and the jack-jumper ant Myrmecia nigrocincta , which has been recorded several times visiting the flowers of S. acclinis. [13] Flowers sprout during springs and summer. [2]

Conservation status

The species has been classed as "endangered" under the New South Wales Government Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 . [14] [15] The main threats to S. acclinis are clearance of habitat for development, introduced and invasive species of weeds, timber harvesting activities, and accidental removal during weed-control programs. [4] [16]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Senna septemtrionalis</i> Species of legume

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<i>Senna notabilis</i> Species of plant

Senna notabilis, commonly known as cockroach bush, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, and is endemic to northern Australia. It is an erect, softly-hairy, annual or perennial shrub with pinnate leaves with six to twelve pairs of lance-shaped leaflets, and yellow flowers arranged in groups of twenty to thirty, with seven fertile stamens in each flower.

<i>Senna cardiosperma</i> Species of legume

Senna cardiosperma is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the western half of Australia. It is an erect shrub or small tree with pinnate leaves, the number and shape of the leaflets depending on subspecies, yellow flowers with ten fertile stamens in each flower, and flat pods.

<i>Senna clavigera</i> Species of legume

Senna clavigera, commonly known as pepper leaf senna, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a perennial herb with pinnate leaves with four to seven pairs of lance-shaped to elliptic leaflets, and groups of four to twenty yellow flowers in upper leaf axils.

<i>Senna ferraria</i> Species of legume

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<i>Senna glutinosa</i> Species of legume

Senna glutinosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to central and northern arid areas of Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with pinnate leaves with up to seven pairs of leaflets, their shape depending on subspecies, and yellow flowers arranged in groups with ten fertile stamens in each flower.

Senna heptanthera is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to Arnhem Land in the north of the Northern Territory. It is a creeping, herbaceous perennial with pinnate leaves with one or two pairs of broadly egg-shaped leaflets, and yellow flowers arranged in groups of eight to ten, with seven fertile stamens in each flower.

<i>Senna magnifolia</i> Species of legume

Senna magnifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to northern Australia. It is an erect, spreading or straggling, mostly glabrous shrub with pinnate leaves with four to six pairs of broadly oblong to round leaflets, and yellow flowers arranged in groups of twenty to sixty, with seven fertile stamens in each flower.

<i>Senna oligoclada</i> Species of legume

Senna oligoclada is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to northern Australia. It is an erect shrub with pinnate leaves with one to three pairs of elliptic to egg-shaped leaflets, and yellow flowers arranged in groups of three to five with ten fertile stamens in each flower.

<i>Senna pilocarina</i> Species of legume

Senna pilocarina is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to inland Western Australia. It is a prostrate or upright, spreading shrub with pinnate leaves with five to nine pairs of oblong to wedge-shaped leaflets, and yellow flowers arranged in groups of four or five, with ten fertile stamens in each flower.

<i>Senna pleurocarpa</i> Species of legume

Senna pleurocarpa, commonly known as fire bush or chocolate bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a spreading shrub with pinnate leaves with five to seven pairs of broadly elliptic to egg-shaped leaflets, and groups of five to twelve yellow flowers arranged in dense groups of twenty to sixty on the ends of branches and in upper leaf axils.

References

  1. 1 2 "Senna acclinis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "Senna acclinis (F.Muell.) Randell". plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/. PlanetNET. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  3. "Senna Acclins". Port Macquarie Landcare Group Inc. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Rainforest Cassia - profile". www.environment.nsw.gov.au/. NSW Government - Environment & Heritage. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  5. Randell, Barbara R.; Barlow, Bryan A. "Senna acclinis (F.Muell.) Randell". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  6. "Cassia acclinis". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  7. von Mueller, Ferdinand (1863). Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. Vol. v.4 1863-64. Melbourne: Victorian Government Printer. p. 13. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  8. "Senna acclinis". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  9. Randell, Barbara Rae (1989). "Revision of the Cassiinae in Australia. @. Senna Miller Sect. Psilorhegma (J,Vogel) Irwin and Barneby" (PDF). Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. 12 (2): 200–202. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  10. Harden, G.J. (ed.) (2002) Flora of New South Wales. Volume 2, Revised Edition. UNSW, Sydney.
  11. "Rainforest Cassia - Hunter-Central Rivers: Distribution and vegetation associations". www.environment.nsw.gov.au/. NSW Government - Environment & Heritage. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  12. Williams, Geoff. "Bee pollination in the threatened Australian shrub Senna acclinis (Caesalpinioideae)" (PDF). The Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  13. Williams, Geoff; Adam, Paul (2010). The flowering of Australia's rainforests : a plant and pollination miscellany. Collingwood, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing. p. 139. ISBN   978-0643097612 . Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  14. Briggs, J. & Leigh, J. (1996) Rare or Threatened Australian Plants. CSIRO, Melbourne.
  15. "Senna acclinis - endangered species listing". NSW Government - Environment & Heritage. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  16. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (2002) Threatened Species of the Upper North Coast of NSW: Flora. (NSW NPWS, Coffs Harbour)