Senna bicapsularis (L.) Roxb.
-
Authority
Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.
-
Family
Caesalpiniaceae
-
Scientific Name
-
Description
Species Description - Scandent shrub to 3 m long, many-branched from base; branches horizontal or pendulous. Leaves 3-8 cm long; leaflets 2-4 pairs, 1.5-4 x 1-2.5 cm, obovate to oblanceolate, slightly succulent, glabrous, the apex truncate, notched and usually mucronate, the base asymmetric, cuneate to subcordate, the margins entire; rachis with a stipitate, ellipsoid, nectariferous gland between the lowest pair of leaflets; stipules lanceolate, minute, deciduous. Flowers in axillary racemes; pedicels 1-3.5 mm long, articulate; bracts lanceolate to awl-shaped, deciduous. Calyx forming am obconic hypanthium, 1.5-3.4 mm long, the sepals 5, oblongelliptic, 5-8 mm long, glabrous, yellowish green; petals yellow, concave, 1-1.5 cm long, cuneate at base, the lower, central petal longer, obovate; the others oblong; stamens 10, dimorphic, 3 of them longer and fertile, the other 7 sterile, the filaments of all 10 shorter than the petals; ovary glabrous, the style incurved. Legume 8-19 X 1-2 cm, oblong, cylindrical, fleshy, septate, indehiscent. Seeds numerous, 4-6 mm long, ellipsoid, light brown, smooth.
-
Discussion
Common names: stiverbush, styver bla.
-
Distribution
Common roadside shrub. Adrian Ruins (A3121), Cruz Bay (B191), Fish Bay (A3917). Also on Anegada, St. Croix, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda; probably native to the Greater Antilles, now widespread throughout the tropics.
Virgin Gorda Virgin Islands South America| Tortola Virgin Islands South America| Saint Thomas Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Saint Croix Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Anegada Virgin Islands South America|