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Senna obtusifolia

(L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby (1982)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-Rosids Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Genus: Senna

habucha

Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Annual or perennial herbs (1–)3–12(–20) dm tall, sometimes somewhat woody toward base.

Stems:

Roots: Roots black with yellow tips.

Leaves: Leaves compound. Alternate. Leaflets 3 pairs, opposite, the distal ones larger, broadly obovate to cuneate–obovate, 1.7–6.5 cm long, 1–4 cm wide. Leaflet apices subtruncate to broadly rounded, apiculate. Leaflet bases with 1 side rounded to cordate, the other cuneate. Leaflet surfaces glabrous or pubescent. Leaflet margins ciliate. Petiolate; petiolar nectaries between the lower and occasionally the second pair of leaflets, 1–3 mm long. Stipules linear, 3.5–17 mm long, caducous.

Flowers: Flowers 1–2 in the leaf axils, in racemes. Flowers caesalpinaceous. Pedicels filiform at anthesis, greatly thickened in fruit, 7–23 mm long, bracts ovate or lanceolate, 2–5 mm long, deciduous; bracteoles absent. Calyx lobes pale green, inner ones obovate or oblong–obovate, 5.5–9.5 mm long, lobes 5, imbricate. Corolla of 5 petals, pale yellow, the standard obcordate or cuneate–obcordate, the others oblong–ovate, the longest one 9–15 mm long. Filaments of 4 median Stamens 1–3 mm long, those of 3 abaxial Stamens 1.5–4.5 mm long, straight, shorter than to not more than twice as long as the anthers; fertile anthers, basifixed, usually modified into sets of 4 median and abaxial anthers. Ovary superior.

Fruit: Pods ascending; chartaceous; linear; compressed; 4–angled; usually curved or sometimes almost straight; attenuate at both ends; 6–18 cm long; 0.2–0.6 cm wide; tardily dehiscent by both sutures; the cavity with well–developed interseminal septa. Seeds brown and glossy; obliquely descending; compressed–rhomboid or irregular; sometimes subcylindrical in narrow fruit; 3.2–6 mm long; crackled with age; the areole 2.5–4.2 mm long.

Ploidy: 2n = 24; 26; 28

Habitat:

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Statewide Status

Naturalized

Island Status

O'ahu Naturalized
Lana'i Naturalized
Hawai'i Naturalized

Dispersal Agents

Water/Ocean
Other Animals

Pollinators

Specimens

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Notes

  • Description digitized by Alyssa Larson
  • Description digitized from the Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii
  • Present at early as 1960 on the Greenwell Ranch, Hawaii
  • Roasted seeds are used for tea by the Japanese

Bibliography

Name Published In: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 35: 252 (1982)

Other References

Wagner et al. 1990:700 (H); Staples et al. 2003:12 (O); Oppenheimer 2011:7 (L)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Scientific Name Authorship Locality Habitat Basis of Record Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby Kailua; edge of Kaelepulu Pond west margin PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Neal, M.C. s.n. Oahu BISH 6/11/1940
2 Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby Keomuku Rd, Nahoko Locally common growing in sandy soil at edge of unpaved rd and dense Prosopis thickets. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Oppenheimer, H.L. H10919 Lanai BISH 1/20/2009
3 Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby Honolulu, 3398 Winam Ave PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Sakimura, K. s.n. Oahu BISH 10/22/1945
4 Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby Kealakekua, Greenwell Ranch PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Akira s.n. Hawaii BISH 10/18/1960
5 Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby Kaneohe Community Gardens. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Nagata, K.M. 4329 Oahu BISH 6/14/1994
6 Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby Foster Botanical Garden, 50 Vineyard Blvd, main entrance PRESERVED_SPECIMEN H. Oppenheimer H10919 Oahu HAPI 1/20/2009
7 Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby honolulu, 3398 winam ave PRESERVED_SPECIMEN sakimura, k. Oahu BISH 10/22/1945
8 Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby kealakekua, greenwell ranch PRESERVED_SPECIMEN akira Hawaii BISH 10/18/1960
9 Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby Keomuku road, Nahoko. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN H. Oppenheimer H10919 Lanai US 1/20/2009
10 Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby Keomuku Road. Nahoko. In sandy soil at edge of unpaved road and dense Prosopis thickets. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Hank Oppenheimer H10919 Lanai PTBG 1/20/2009
11 Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby Kealakekua, Greenwell Ranch. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN Akire sub. S. Uehara s.n. Hawaii PTBG 4/10/2060
12 Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby keomuku road, nahoko. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN h. oppenheimer h10919 Lanai US 1/20/2009
13 Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby kailua; edge of kaelepulu pond west margin PRESERVED_SPECIMEN neal, m.c. hartt, c.e. collector number: s.n. Oahu BISH 6/11/1940
14 Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby kealakekua, greenwell ranch Closed healthy. Primary vegetation: Metrosideros polymorpha, Ilex anomala, Myrsine lessertiana, Cheirodendron trigynum, Coprosma spp, Psychotria hawaiiensis, Gouldia sp. Soils are a shallow yet well drained organic soil over an aa flow. PRESERVED_SPECIMEN akira Hawaii BISH 10/18/1960
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