Senna hirsuta var. glaberrima – Woolly Senna

Senna hirsuta var. glaberrima - Woolly Senna, Slim-pod Senna (flowers)

Senna hirsuta var. glaberrima - Woolly Senna, Slim-pod Senna (flowers and seed pods)

Senna hirsuta var. glaberrima - Woolly Senna, Slim-pod Senna (leaf)

Senna hirsuta var. glaberrima - Woolly Senna, Slim-pod Senna

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Senna hirsuta var. glaberrima

Synonym: Cassia leptocarpa var. glaberrima

Common Names: Woolly Senna, Slim-pod Senna

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Shrub, Subshrub, Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Desert (upper elevation), Upland, Riparian. This showy wildflower typically grows in sandy desert washes and along roadsides in the uplands.

Flower Color: Yellow

Flowering Season: Summer, Fall (early). It blooms after the summer monsoon rains have begun.

Height: 3 to 6 feet (91 cm to 1.8 m) tall or more

Description: The flowers have 5 oval petals and 2 enlarged, curved, lower stamens. The 2 lowest petals are cupped. The flowers attract ants and are followed by 6 to 10 inch (15 to 25 cm) long, slender, arching bean pods. The leaves are alternate and pinnately compound with an even number of green, lanceolate leaflets. The plants are hairless or mostly hairless in this variety.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae – Pea family
Genus: Senna Mill. – senna
Species: Senna hirsuta (L.) Irwin & Barneby – woolly senna
Variety: Senna hirsuta (L.) Irwin & Barneby var. glaberrima (M.E. Jones) Irwin & Barneby – woolly senna

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map