Senna atomaria
Senna artemisioides
flor de San Jose, flor de san josé, palo zorillo
silver senna
5–55-flowered, not spikelike;
bracts early caducous, to 5 mm.
2–10-flowered;
bracts early caducous.
13–28 mm.
4–15 mm.
asymmetric, enantiostylous;
calyx greenish to yellow;
corolla yellow-orange, slightly dark-veined, longest petal 12–23 mm, highly asymmetric, 1 or both lower petals highly modified, strongly concave and folded over stamens (flag-shaped);
androecium slightly heterantherous, stamens 7 (similar in shape and size, abaxial ones slightly longer), staminodes 3;
anthers 2.8–5 mm, dehiscing by 2 short slits, apical appendage 0;
gynoecium incurved, ovules 46–70;
ovary glabrate, sometimes becoming hairy after fertilization;
style stout.
slightly asymmetric, enantiostylous;
calyx yellowish to greenish;
corolla yellow, longest petal 6–10 mm;
androecium not heterantherous, stamens 10, staminodes 0;
anthers 1.5–5 mm, dehiscing by 2 pores, apical appendage 0;
gynoecium incurved, ovules unknown;
ovary slightly hairy;
style slightly incurved.
pendulous, flat, straight, 220–370 × 80–140 mm, woody, indehiscent or splitting transversely into woody segments.
pendulous, flat, straight or slightly curved, 20–80 × 6–12 mm, corrugated over seeds, indehiscent.
reddish brown, obovoid to oblong-obovoid.
dark brown or dull, obovoid.
= 28, 56.
Senna atomaria
Senna artemisioides
As with other trees from deciduous and semi-deciduous vegetation, Senna atomaria is covered with flowers before developing the foliage (H. S. Irwin and R. C. Barneby 1982). In the flora area, it occurs naturalized only very locally in Collier County (R. P. Wunderlin et al., http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Due to its remarkable morphological and genetic variation (especially in leaflet number and form), Senna artemisioides has a shifting taxonomic history. The species, as circumscribed by Randell, was divided into several morphological forms by B. R. Randell and B. A. Barlow (1998). Senna artemisioides, as presented here, encompasses four common morphological forms found in North America: subsp. filifolia Randell, subsp. petiolaris Randell, nothosubsp. sturtii (R. Brown) Randell, and subsp. zygophylla Randell. D. E. Symon (1998) considered individuals of subsp. petiolaris characterized by arcuate phyllodes to be a separate species, S. phyllodinea (R. Brown) Symon, mainly because of the absence of individuals with an intermediate leaf morphology transitioning to the phyllode shape. Although this argument is reasonable, S. phyllodinea has not been accepted and adopted in other floristic studies. It must be noted that phyllodes consist of the lateral compression of both the petiole and the rachis, and not only of the petiole, as reported by Randell and Barlow. Along the adaxial margin of the phyllode, there is, in fact, a reduced extrafloral nectary at each insertion place of the suppressed leaflets.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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