Senna nitida (Rich.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby
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Authority
Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro. 2005. Vines and climbing plants of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 51: 1-483.
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Family
Caesalpiniaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Description - Clambering or scandent shrub, which attains 2-5(10) m in length. Stems up to 2.5 cm in diameter, grayish, almost cylindrical; branches green, striate, glabrous or puberulent. Leaves alternate, pinnate; leaflets 4, opposite, ovate or elliptical, 6-12 x 2-4.5 cm, the distal pair larger, the apex acuminate, the base unequal or rounded, the margins slightly undulate, revolute; upper surface shiny, glabrous or puberulent, with the midvein sunken; lower surface glabrous, yellowish green, dull, punctate; petiolules swollen; rachis with a linear stipitate gland between the leaflets; petioles longer than the rachis, sulcate, swollen at the base. Inflorescences of axillary racemes, produced toward the end of the branches. Sepals oblong or ovate, ca. 5 mm long. Petals yellow, rounded, 1-2 cm long. Legume 10-18 x 1-1.5 cm, almost cylindrical, compressed along the suture, fleshy, producing a yellow exudate, oily and rancid. Seeds ca. 10 mm long, flattened, elliptical.
Phenology - Flowering from October to December.
Conservation Status - Native, relatively common.
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Common Names
hediondilla