Senna clavigera, commonly known as pepper leaf senna,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a perennial herb with pinnate leaves with four to seven pairs of lance-shaped to elliptic leaflets, and groups of four to twenty yellow flowers in upper leaf axils.
| Pepper leaf senna | |
|---|---|
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| In Mount Annan Botanic Garden | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Caesalpinioideae |
| Genus: | Senna |
| Species: | S. clavigera
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| Binomial name | |
| Senna clavigera | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Description
editSenna clavigera is a perennial herb that typically grows to a height of up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in), and is more or less glabrous. Its leaves are pinnate, 100–120 mm (3.9–4.7 in) long with four to seven pairs of lance-shaped to narrowly elliptic or elliptic leaflets, 40–70 mm (1.6–2.8 in) long and 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) wide. There is a single sessile glands near the base of the petiole. The flowers are yellow and arranged in groups of four to twenty in upper leaf axils on a peduncle 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) long, each flower on a pedicel 12–15 mm (0.47–0.59 in) long. The petals are up to 10 mm (0.39 in) long and there are six fertile stamens, the anthers 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long as well as three staminodes. Flowering occurs in most months with a peak in summer, and the fruit is a dark brown, cylindrical pod 40–50 mm (1.6–2.0 in) long and about 5 mm (0.20 in) wide.[2][3][4]
Taxonomy
editThis species was first formally described in 1926 by Karel Domin who gave it the name Cassia sophera var. clavigera in Bibliotheca Botanica.[5] In 1988, Barbara Rae Randell raised the variety to species status as Senna clavigera in the Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden.[6] The specific epithet (clavigera) means "club-bearer".[7]
Distribution and habitat
editSenna clavigera grows in wet forest and on the edges of rainforest in eastern Queensland and in New South Wales as far south as the Shoalhaven River. It is possibly weedy in some areas.[2][3]
References
edit- ^ a b "Senna clavigera". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ a b c "Senna clavigera". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ^ a b Wiecek, Barbara. "Senna clavigera". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ^ Randell, Barbara R. (1988). "Revision of the Cassiinae in Australia. 1. Senna Miller sect. Chamaefistula (Colladon) Irwin and Barneby". Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. 11 (1): 39–41. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ "Cassia sophera var. clavigera". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ^ "Senna clavigera". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 165. ISBN 9780958034180.