PLANTS FURNISHING MEDICINAL LEAVES AND HERIJS. 



13 



AMERICAN SENNA. 



Cassia marilandica Ij. 



Synonym. — Senna vfiarilandica Link. 



Other common names. — Wild soiina, locust plant. 



Habitat and range. — American senna generally frequents wet or swampy soils from 

 New England to North Carolina and westward to Louisiana and Nebraska. 



Description. — This is a native species, a member of the senna family (Caesalpini- 

 acese), which is closely related to the pea family. It is a perennial herb, its round 

 grooved stems reaching about 4 to 6 feet in hei,<i;ht. The leaves, which are borne on 

 long, somewhat bristly 

 hairy stalks, are 6 to 8 

 inches long and consist of 

 from 12 to 20 leaflets placed 

 opposite to each other on 

 the stem. Each leaflet is 

 oblong or lance-shaped ob- 

 long, blunt at the top but 

 terminating with a short, 

 stiff point, rounded at the 

 base and from 1 to 1-^ inches 

 long, the stalks supporting 

 them being rather short; 

 the upper surface is of a 

 pale-green color, while un- 

 derneath it is still lighter 

 in color and covered with 

 a bloom. On the upper 

 surface of the leaf stem, 

 near its base, is a promi- 

 nent club-shaped gland, 

 borne on a stalk. 



The numerous yellow 

 flowers are borne on slen- 

 der, hairy stems, produced 

 in clusters in the axils of 

 the leaves at the top of the 

 plant and appearing from 

 about August to Septem- 

 ber. The pods are about 

 3 inches in length, linear, 

 somewhat curved and drooping, slightly hairy at first, flat, and narrowed on the sides 

 between the seeds. They contain numerous small, flat, dark-brown seeds. (Fig. 5.) 



Collection, prices, and uses. — The leaves, or rather the leaflets, are the parts employed 

 and should be gathered at flowering time, which usually occurs during July 

 and August. They were official in the United States Pharmacopoeia from 1820 

 to 1880. American senna leaves have a very slight odor and a rather disagreeable 

 taste, somewhat like that of the foreign senna. It is used for purposes similar to the 

 well-known senna of commerce imported from abroad, having, like that, cathartic 

 properties. 



The price at present paid for American senna is about 6 to 8 cents a pound. 

 219 



Fig. 5.- 



-American senna (Cas.'fia marilandica), leaves, flowers, and 

 seed pods. 



