Senna alata
-
Candlestick cassia
Family Fabaceae
Description:
About sixty species of Senna
are native around the world. Previously, this genus was lumped together with
the genus, Cassia. The candlestick
cassia is native to Central and South America.
The bold, compound foliage stands out in the landscape. Bright yellow flowers emerge
from tall, unbranched spikes of covered in yellow bracts in late summer and
fall. The larvae of sulphur butterflies feed on this and other Senna species. It is used by people in
some parts of its range for anti-fungal properties.
Location:
See plants along UNF Drive near parking garage 44 and in the circle east of building 51.
Size:
Large shrub to ten feet or more in height.
Care Instructions:
Light: full sun
Water: adaptable, drought tolerant once established
Soil: average garden soil
Temperatures in the low to mid-twenties will kill this plant
to the ground. In Jacksonville,
it usually resprouts from the ground in the following spring.
