Chinese Senna Senna obtusifolia
Other Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Cassia obtusifolia
- Cassia tora var. obtusifolia
- Diallobus tora
- Phonetic Spelling
- SEN-nuh ob-too-sih-FOH-lee-uh
- This plant has low severity poison characteristics.
- See below
- Description
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Sicklepod is a branched, annual herb in the Fabaceae (bean) family native to the eastern and midwestern US and tropical and subtropical regions in the Americas. It is found naturally in forests or natural areas in open woodlands, or fields though it has been introduced all over the world. The Latin name for the species obtusifolia comes from the word obtusus which means blunt and folium which means leaf.
It typically grows to a height and width of 2 to 5 feet. Bright green leaves are pinnately divided with rounded leaflets that have a point at the tips. Showy yellow five-petaled flowers appear in the late summer and last into the fall. They are followed by sickle-shaped bean pods, hence the common name. It will self-seed easily in the landscape.
Sicklepod grows best in full sun in moist to slightly dry well-drained soil, though it can grow in the toughest compacted clay or rocky soils. They are disease-resistant and drought tolerant.
For additional information by the NC State Herbarium see "Poisonous Vascular Plants" (cntrl + F, search for Sicklepod)
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: It can be weedy in disturbed areas and agricultural sites and is considered a noxious weed in some states.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Senna
- Species:
- obtusifolia
- Family:
- Fabaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Roasted seeds have been used as a substitute for coffee and the roots, leaves and seeds have been used in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. In Africa the green leaves are fermented and used as a meat substitute. The seeds are ground and used commercially to produce the food additive cassia gum which acts as a thickener.
- Life Cycle:
- Annual
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Eastern U.S.A., Tropical & Subtropical America
- Edibility:
- Young shoots; only collect plants from areas you know have NOT been treated with pesticides. Gather the young shoots in July or early August. Safe food procedures: soak young shoots in warm water to remove dirt and debris. Do not use dish detergent or any type of sanitizer. These products can leave a residue. The shoots have an unpleasant odor in its raw state but this disappears after cooking. Boil in salted water for five minutes, pour off this first water and add fresh boiling and salted water. Boil for another eight minutes. Serve as a vegetable.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 2 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Annual
- Weed
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Spreading
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Shallow Rocky
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 3 feet-6 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Green
- Fruit Type:
- Legume
- Fruit Length:
- > 3 inches
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Brown green 4 to 6 inches long, slender (1/4" wide), 4-angled (terete) in cross section, curved into a sickle shape bean pod.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Fall
- Summer
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- 5 yellow to pale yellow petals, 5 green sepals, 7 stamens with beaked anthers. 5/8" flowers in pairs in the upper leaf axils bloom from late summer to fall
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Obovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Alternate, pinnately divided, without a conspicuous gland at the base of the leaf stalk; leaflets of 3 pairs and each obovate leaflet is 1.5" long and 1" wide comes to a point at the tip; stipules usually not persistent and not conspicuously striated. Leaves are lighter green underneath, hairless, and have a long petiole and an unpleasant scent.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Green
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Light green, slightly ridged
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Naturalized Area
- Woodland
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Compaction
- Diseases
- Drought
- Problems:
- Malodorous
- Weedy
