Senna circinnata

Last updated

Coiled cassia
Senna circinnata.jpg
West of Blackall, Queensland
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. circinnata
Binomial name
Senna circinnata
Synonyms [1]
  • Cassia circinnataBenth.
  • Senna artemisioides subsp. circinnata(Benth.) Randell
Habit near Euabalong, New South Wales Senna circinnata habit.jpg
Habit near Euabalong, New South Wales

Senna circinnata, commonly known as coiled cassia, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with pinnate leaves with one to three pairs of egg-shaped leaflets, and small groups of yellow flowers in upper leaf axils.

Contents

Description

Senna circinnata is a shrub or small tree that typically grows to a height of up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in), and is sparsely covered with soft hairs pressed against the surface. Its leaves are pinnate, 30–60 mm (1.2–2.4 in) long on a petiole 15–50 mm (0.59–1.97 in) long, with one to three pairs of egg-shaped leaflets with the narrower end towards the base, 8–12 mm (0.31–0.47 in) long and 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) wide, the leaflets usually lost when the leaf matures. There is a single glands between the lower pair of leaflets. The flowers are yellow and arranged in upper leaf axils in small groups on a peduncle 5–15 mm (0.20–0.59 in) long, each flower on a pedicel 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) long. The petals are about 10 mm (0.39 in) long and there are ten fertile stamens, the anthers 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long. Flowering occurs in most months with a peak in winter, and the fruit is a flattened, spirally coiled pod 60–120 mm (2.4–4.7 in) long and about 10 mm (0.39 in) wide. [2] [3]

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1848 by George Bentham who gave it the name Cassia circinnata in Thomas Mitchell's Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia . [4] [5] In 1998, Barbara Rae Randell and Bryan Alwyn Barlow transferred the species to Senna as Senna charlesiana in the Flora of Australia . [6] [7] The specific epithet (circinnata) means "curled around upon itself". [8]

Distribution and habitat

Senna circinnata grows in arid shrubland in western Queensland and in western New South Wales. [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Boronia alulata</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Boronia thujona</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Boronia crassifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Boronia filicifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Cyanothamnus penicillatus</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Boronia tolerans</i> Species of flowering plant

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

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

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

Senna barclayana, commonly known as smooth senna or pepper-leaf senna, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a herbaceous perennial or subshrub with pinnate leaves with six to ten pairs of lance-shaped or narrowly elliptic leaflets, and yellow flowers in groups of six to ten.

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

Senna barronfieldii, commonly known as southern cassia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect shrub with more or less glabrous, pinnate leaves with eight to thirteen pairs of lance-shaped or elliptic leaflets, and yellow flowers in groups of three to five.

<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 charlesiana</i> Species of legume

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References

  1. 1 2 "Senna circinnata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Wiecek, Barbara. "Senna circinnata". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Senna circinnata". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  4. "Cassia circinnata". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  5. Bentham, George (1848). Mitchell, Thomas (ed.). Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia. p. 384. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  6. Randell, Barbara R.; Barlow, Bryan A. (1998). Orchard, Anthony E. (ed.). Flora of Australia (PDF). Vol. 12. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. p. 194. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  7. "Senna circinnata". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  8. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 164. ISBN   9780958034180.