Sicklepod (MatBio: HERBS OF FOREST & FIELD - Matanzas Biodiversity)

Sicklepod

Senna obtusifolia

Summary ⁷

Senna obtusifolia (Chinese Senna or Sicklepod) is a legume in the genus Senna, sometimes separated in the monotypic genus Diallobus. It grows wild in North, Central, and South America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, and is considered a particularly serious weed in many places. It has a long-standing history of confusion with Senna tora and that taxon in many sources actually refers to the present species.

Comments ⁸

This rare plant has attractive foliage, but blooms sparingly. In the photograph of the flowering plant on the lower right, one of the sickle-shaped seedpods is evident; it is still green. Sicklepod resembles Senna marilandica (Maryland Senna) and Senna hebecarpa (Wild Senna) somewhat in appearance, but it is a shorter annual plant that has 1) fewer leaflets per compound leaf, 2) leaflets with a more obovate shape, and 3) seedpods that are more curved and slender. In the past, Sicklepod was often assigned to the Bean family (Fabaceae), rather than the Caesalpinia family. Return