Senna occidentalis (L.) Link

  • Authority

    Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

  • Family

    Caesalpiniaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Senna occidentalis (L.) Link

  • Description

    Species Description - Annual (in our range), 3–10 dm, malodorous, bearing in each upper axil a single fl or 2–3 fls in a raceme with a very short common axis; gland depressed or dome-shaped, near the base of the petiole; lfls 3–6 pairs, ovate to elliptic or lance-ovate, 3–8 cm, acuminate; buds nodding; sep unequal; pet 10–15 mm, slightly dissimilar; pods straight or slightly curved, flattened, 7–14 cm × 6–9 mm, tardily dehiscent, glabrous or sparsely hairy, weakly segmented; seeds 4–5 mm, flattened-obovoid with depressed center; 2n=28. Native of the Old World tropics, widely naturalized in the warmer parts of the New World, extending n. to N.C. and Ark., and rarely in our range as an adventive. Late summer. (Cassia o.; Ditremexa o.)

  • Common Names

    coffee senna