Senna lindheimeriana

Kearney and Peebles 1969

Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Subshrub General: Herbaceous perennials, to 1 m tall, stem surfaces soft-pubescent, the pubescence not closely appressed to the stems or leaves, plants sometimes barely suffrutescent. Leaves: Alternate, pinnate, the leaflets opposite, in 4-8 pairs, leaflets oblong, elliptic, or obovate, to 6 mm wide or more, the rachis usually with 1 or more subulate glands situated between the leaflets. Flowers: Yellow, moderately irregular and papilionaceous with banner, wing, and keel petals, petals conspicuously veined, stamens 5 or 10, often unequal, some of them sometimes sterile, anthers red, flowers borne in terminal, leafy panicles or axillary clusters. Fruits: Pods 3.5-6 cm long, the cusp usually somewhat lateral and ascending, 1-2 mm long, the fruits promptly and elastically dehiscent. Seeds gray or olive brown, dull, the surfaces rugose. Ecology: Found on dry mesas and in foothills, from 4,500-5,500 ft (1372-1676 m); flowering June-September. Distribution: se AZ, s NM, TX; south to n MEX. Notes: An erect-ascending perennial with soft, erect/spreading hairs on the stems that can reach heights of 1.5m; 4-8 pairs of leaflets (2 in S. bauhinioides and 2-3 in covesii); bright yellow flowers and pods 3.5-8cm long, much longer than either S. bauhinioides or covesii an often taller and more robust herb to subshrub than either of those species. Ethnobotany: Unknown, but other species in the genus have uses. Etymology: Senna comes from the Arabic name Sana, and lindheimeriana is named after Ferdinand Jakob Lindheimer (1801-1879). Synonyms: Cassia lindheimeriana Editor: LCrumbacher 2012, FSCoburn 2015