Senna wislizeni

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Wislizenus' Senna

Flowering branch

Apparently Secure (TNC)

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Subclass:	Rosidae
(unranked)	Eurosids I
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Caesalpinioideae
Tribe:	Cassieae
Subtribe:	Cassiinae
Genus:	Senna
Species:	S. wislizeni

Binomial name

Senna wislizeni
(A.Gray) Irwin & Barneby

Synonyms

Cassia wislizenii A.Gray
Palmerocassia wislizenii (A.Gray) Britton & Rose

Senna wislizeni is commonly called Wislizenus' Senna or Shrubby Senna (formerly "cassia", but this generally refers to larger Cassiinae). Formerly in the "wastebin taxon" Cassia sensu lato, it is now placed in the genus Senna or sometimes separated in Palmerocassia together with Senna unijuga^[1].

This is a perennial, deciduous shrub native to Chihuahua and Hidalgo in Mexico; and Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in the U.S. It is a desert plant with good heat and drought tolerance.

S. wislizeni can reach ten feet (3 meters) tall with a ten foot spread. It has compound foliage. In summer, especially late summer, it bears yellow flowers developing into long, flat, dark brown pods.

The species is named after Dr. F. A. Wislizenus, a botanist who studied Mexican flora in the mid-19th century.

There are several named varieties:^[1]

var. painteri (Britton & Rose) H.S.Irwin & Barneby (= Cassia wislizenii A. Gray var. painteri (Britton & Rose) H.S.Irwin & Barneby, Palmerocassia painteri Britton & Rose)
var. pringlei (Rose) H.S.Irwin & Barneby (= Cassia morelensis Greenm., Cassia pringlei Rose, Palmerocassia pringlei (Rose) Britton & Rose)
var. villosa (Britton & Rose) H.S.Irwin & Barneby (= Cassia wislizenii A. Gray var. villosa (Britton & Rose) H.S.Irwin & Barneby, Palmerocassia villosa Britton & Rose)^[2]

[edit] Footnotes

^ ^a ^b ILDIS (2005)
^ Note that there also exists a Senna villosa (Mill.) H.S. Irwin & Barneby (formerly Cassia villosa Mill.) which is a different species altogether.

[edit] References

International Legume Database & Information Service (ILDIS) (2005): Genera Cassia, Palmerocassia, Senna. Version 10.01, November 2005. Retrieved 2007-DEC-20.