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flor de San Jose, flor de san josé, palo zorillo

Coues' cassia, Coves' cassia, desert senna

Habit Shrubs or trees, to 20 m. Leaves mesophyllous to slightly sclerophyllous, 8.5–28.5 cm, hairy, sometimes densely; stipules caducous; extrafloral nectaries 0; leaflet pairs 2–5, blades bicolored, usually obovate to elliptic, sometimes ovate, 20–130 × 10–60 mm. Herbs, perennial, to 0.7 m. Leaves slightly sclerophyllous, 2–10 cm, hairy; stipules persistent, to 1 mm wide; extrafloral nectaries between all leaflet pairs, stipitate; leaflet pairs 2–4, blades obovate to elliptic-obovate or oblong-elliptic, 10–38 × 5–19 mm.
Racemes

5–55-flowered, not spikelike;

bracts early caducous, to 5 mm.

(2–)4–8-flowered;

bracts caducous.

Pedicels

13–28 mm.

8–17 mm.

Flowers

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.

monosymmetric;

calyx pale green, pinkish, or yellowish;

corolla golden yellow, longest petal 9–15 mm;

androecium not heterantherous, stamens 7, staminodes 3;

anthers 2.5–4.2 mm, dehiscing by 1 apical pore, apical appendage 0;

gynoecium linear, slightly incurved, ovules 28–42;

ovary hairy;

style filiform, incurved.

Legumes

pendulous, flat, straight, 220–370 × 80–140 mm, woody, indehiscent or splitting transversely into woody segments.

erect, cylindrical, slightly curved, 180–350 × 50–80 mm, shallowly corrugated over seeds, dehiscing apically downward.

Seeds

reddish brown, obovoid to oblong-obovoid.

brown, rhomboid.

Senna atomaria

Senna covesii

Phenology Flowering late winter–late spring. Flowering late winter–early fall.
Habitat Disturbed habitats. Sandy and gravelly desert washes, slopes, and stony hills, disturbed desert roadsides.
Elevation 0–20 m. (0–100 ft.) 0–1200 m. (0–3900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; Mexico (Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, México, Michoacán, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatán); Central America (including Caribbean Islands); South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela) [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; NM; NV; Mexico (Baja California, Sinaloa, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Source FNA vol. 11. FNA vol. 11.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Caesalpinioideae (excluding Mimosoid clade) > Senna Fabaceae > subfam. Caesalpinioideae (excluding Mimosoid clade) > Senna
Sibling taxa
S. alata, S. armata, S. artemisioides, S. bauhinioides, S. corymbosa, S. covesii, S. durangensis, S. hebecarpa, S. hirsuta, S. ligustrina, S. lindheimeriana, S. marilandica, S. mexicana, S. multiglandulosa, S. obtusifolia, S. occidentalis, S. orcuttii, S. pendula, S. pilosior, S. pumilio, S. ripleyana, S. roemeriana, S. surattensis, S. wislizeni
S. alata, S. armata, S. artemisioides, S. atomaria, S. bauhinioides, S. corymbosa, S. durangensis, S. hebecarpa, S. hirsuta, S. ligustrina, S. lindheimeriana, S. marilandica, S. mexicana, S. multiglandulosa, S. obtusifolia, S. occidentalis, S. orcuttii, S. pendula, S. pilosior, S. pumilio, S. ripleyana, S. roemeriana, S. surattensis, S. wislizeni
Synonyms Cassia atomaria, C. emarginata Cassia covesii, Earleocassia covesii
Name authority (Linnaeus) H. S. Irwin & Barneby: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 35: 588. (1982) (A. Gray) H. S. Irwin & Barneby: Phytologia 44: 499. (1979)
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