Correll and Johnston 1970

Common Name: Wislizenus' senna Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Shrub General: Perennial shrub to 4 m, woody throughout; stems erect or ascending, branches arching, spreading or decumbent, sometimes sparsely to densely pubescent, especially on young twigs , Leaves: Alternate, clustered on spurs or fasicles, petiolate, glabrous or nearly so, pinnately compound with 3-7 pairs of leaflets, margins entire; stipules inconspicuous, absent, or caducous Flowers: In axillary clusters or few-flowered racemes with 2-6 flowers, clustered at the ends of branches; bracts very small, absent or caducous; flowers actinomorphic; calyx 5-lobed, glabrous to hairy; petals separate, orange or yellow; stamens 9-10, fertile stamens 6-8, heteromorphic; style terete; flowering Fruits: Pods stipitate, unilocular and tardily or weakly dehiscent; flat, elongate, oblong or ellipsoidal, strongly curved, falcate, bent, or lunate and compressed between seeds; coriaceous or becoming woody, 11-many seeded; seed with elliptical line or depressio Ecology: Chihuahuan scrub and desert grasslands on plains, dry slopes and mesas; 3608 - 5577 ft (1100-1700 m). Distribution: se AZ, sw NM, sw TX; south to c MEX. Notes: A distinct shrub to small tree, the dark branches can become sharp but in general lack thorns and contrast with the deciduous pinnately compound leaves clustered at nodes in fascicles with small, oval green leaflets which widen towards the apex. The clusters of showy yellow flowers followed by flat, dark brown pods are especially distinctive. Ethnobotany: unknown Synonyms: PalCassia wislizeni Editor: FSCoburn 2014 Etymology: Senna is from the Arabic -sana" while the specific epithet is named after Dr. F. A. Wislizenus, a botanist who studied Mexican flora in the mid-19th century.