PULSE FAMILY 



LEGUMINOSAE 



WILD SENNA 



Cassia marilandica L. 



The dried leaves of an Arabian species of Cassia are 

 extensively used in medicine under the name senna, and 

 frequently the leaves of our Wild Senna are collected and 



used as a Aibstitute 

 for the imported article. 



This perennial has 

 rather recently spread 

 into Illinois from the east 

 and may not be found in 

 the extreme northern 

 parts of the state. It 

 grows in swamps and in 

 wet soil along railroads 

 and other waste places 

 from New England to 

 Tennessee, and blooms 

 during July and August. 



Its light green, nearly 

 smooth and sparingly 

 branched stem grows 3-8 

 feet high. The firm leaves 

 are smooth and yellowish 

 green, having small 

 stipules that fall off long 

 before the leaves mature; 

 the 10-20 leaflets are ar- 

 ranged in pairs and the 

 petiole bears a club-shaped gland near the base. 



Showy yellow flowers are clustered in the axils of the upper 

 leaves. The 5 yellowish green sepals are slightly united at the 

 base and the 5 yellow petals are nearly, though not quite, equal. 

 There are 10 stamens, of which the upper 3 are imperfect and 

 do not produce pollen. The pistil is hairy but becomes smooth 

 as it matures into the many-seeded pod. 



Another Wild Senna, Cassia Medsgeri Shafer, is the common 

 form of western and southern Illinois and has commonly been 

 mistaken for the above species because of their great similarity. 

 This Senna differs, however, in the petioles, in the pod and in 

 the number of leaflets. 



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