# Senna pendula

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{{Short description|Species of legume}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Starr 070111-3260 Senna pendula.jpg
|status =
|status_system =
|status_ref =
|genus = Senna
|species = pendula
|authority = ([Humb.](/source/Humb.) & [Bonpl.](/source/Bonpl.) ex [Willd.](/source/Carl_Ludwig_von_Willdenow)) [H.S.Irwin](/source/Howard_Samuel_Irwin) & [Barneby](/source/Rupert_Charles_Barneby)
|subdivision_ranks = Varieties
|subdivision = 17; see text
|subdivision_ref = <ref name = powo>{{cite web |title=''Senna pendula'' (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:911386-1 |website=[Plants of the World Online](/source/Plants_of_the_World_Online) |publisher=[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew](/source/Royal_Botanic_Gardens%2C_Kew) |access-date=8 February 2025}}</ref>
|synonyms =
*''Cassia indecora'' var. ''pendula'' {{small|(Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) Vogel}}
*''Cassia pendula'' {{small|Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.}}
*''Chamaefistula pendula'' {{small|(Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) G.Don}}
|synonyms_ref = <ref name = powo/>
}}

'''''Senna pendula''''', also known as '''Easter Cassia''', '''Christmas Senna''',{{efn|Known as such in the southern hemisphere due its minor flowering season around Christmastime, although this name is also applied to [Senna bicapsularis](/source/Senna_bicapsularis).}} '''winter Senna''',{{efn|Known as such in the northern hemisphere due to its flowering in early wintertime.}} '''climbing Cassia''', '''golden shower''', '''pendant Senna''' and '''valamuerto''',<ref>[https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/media/Html/senna_pendula_var._glabrata.htm Senna pendula var. Glabrata] by Weeds of Australia (biosecurity Queensland edition), [Queensland Government](/source/Queensland_Government). Retrieved 13 April 2020</ref> is a plant of the [Fabaceae](/source/Fabaceae) family with a shrub habit that is native to [South America](/source/South_America). It used in various parts of the world as an [ornamental plant](/source/ornamental_plant) and is an environmental [weed](/source/weed) in [Australia](/source/Australia). The flowers are yellow and the name ''pendula'' means 'pendulous' or 'drooping'.<ref>Irwin, HS & Barneby, RC, 1982 Mem.New York Bot.Gard.35: 1-918 [in 2 parts] American Cassiinae</ref>

==Description==
thumb|left|240px|Flower close-up
thumb|240px|left|Shrubland naturalisation
It is a fast-growing,<ref>[https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/weeds-australia/profile/Senna%20pendula#:~:text=Quick%20facts,by%20physical%20or%20chemical%20means. Senna pendula (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby] by Weeds Australia</ref> spreading, scrambling or erect [shrub](/source/shrub) that reaches 2–4 metres in height with multi-branched and arching stems and branches. Its single-compound, hairless leaves feature three to six duos of wide [leaflet](/source/Leaflet_(botany))s that are 1–5&nbsp;cm long and 5–20&nbsp;mm wide with rounded tips and salient yellowish margins.<ref name="RFK">{{cite web |author1=F.A.Zich |author2=B.P.M.Hyland |author3=T.Whiffen |author4=R.A.Kerrigan |author2-link=Bernard Hyland |year=2020 |url=https://apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest/text/entities/Senna_pendula_var._glabrata.htm |title=''Senna pendula'' var. ''glabrata'' |website=[Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants](/source/Australian_Tropical_Rainforest_Plants) Edition 8 (RFK8) |publisher=Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), [Australian Government](/source/Australian_Government) |access-date=28 June 2021}}</ref>

''Senna pendula'' is distinguished from ''[Senna bicapsularis](/source/Senna_bicapsularis)'' which has 3 pairs of leaflets on each leaf, while this one has 4–7 pairs of leaflets on each leaf and a gland between each pair of leaflets. ''S. bicapsularis'' has flowers borne on rather short [pedicel](/source/Pedicel_(botany))s (flower stalks) that are less than half a centimeter in length, whereas ''S. pendula'' has flowers borne on longer (1 to 3&nbsp;cm) pedicels. ''S. pendula'' may flower from as early as late summer, whereas ''S. bicapsularis'' blooms from late autumn to winter.<ref name = UFL>[https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/mastergardener/newsletter/2018/more/cassia-confusion.html Christmas Cassia Causes Confusion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130041842/https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/mastergardener/newsletter/2018/more/cassia-confusion.html |date=2021-11-30 }} By Marc Frank, [University of Florida](/source/University_of_Florida)</ref>

===Inflorescences=== 
Its bright yellow flowers, which are about 3&nbsp;cm across, have five large [petal](/source/petal)s and are foaled in leafy clumps at the tips of the branches. The fruit is in a cylindrical [pod](/source/Husk) (10–20&nbsp;cm long and 6–12&nbsp;mm wide) that hangs down. It flowers prominently at [Easter](/source/Easter) in the southern hemisphere (or early autumn), hence its common name. It also has an insignificant flowering season in early summer (around [Christmas](/source/Christmas) in the southern hemisphere).<ref>Irwin.H.S.& Barneby,R.C., 1982 Mem.N.Y.Bot.Gard.35(1 & 2):1-918 The American Cassiinae</ref>

==Varieties==
thumb|240px|A large Easter cassia
17 varieties are accepted.<ref name = powo/>

*''Senna pendula'' var. ''ambigua'' {{small|H.S.Irwin & Barneby}} – southeastern Brazil
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''dolichandra'' {{small|H.S.Irwin & Barneby}} – eastern Brazil
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''eriocarpa'' {{small|(Griseb.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby}} – Bolivia and northwestern Argentina
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''glabrata'' {{small|(Vogel) H.S.Irwin & Barneby}} – Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''hemirostrata'' {{small|(Lassen) H.S.Irwin & Barneby}} – Belize, Guatemala, and southeastern Mexico 
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''indecora'' {{small|(Kunth) Luckow}} – southern Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Colombia, and Venezuela
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''indistincta'' {{small|H.S.Irwin & Barneby}} – northern and northeastern Brazil
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''meticola'' {{small|H.S.Irwin & Barneby}} – Venezuela
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''missionum'' {{small|H.S.Irwin & Barneby}} – northeastern Argentina (Misiones)
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''ovalifolia'' {{small|(Britton & Rose) H.S.Irwin & Barneby}} – Mexico and northern Argentina
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''paludicola'' {{small|H.S.Irwin & Barneby}} – Bolivia, northeastern Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and southern and west-central Brazil
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''pendula'' – Mexico to western Brazil
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''praeandina'' {{small|H.S.Irwin & Barneby}} – Peru, Bolivia, and northern Brazil
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''recondita'' {{small|H.S.Irwin & Barneby}} – southern Brazil
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''scandens'' {{small|(Benth.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby}} – Bolivia and Peru
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''stahlii'' {{small|(Urb.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby}} – Puerto Rico
*''Senna pendula'' var. ''tenuifolia'' {{small|(Benth.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby}} – Peru, Bolivia, and western Brazil

==Cultivation==
''Senna pendula'' was introduced as a garden plant in Australia in 1957, where it was described in a [Brisbane](/source/Brisbane) nursery catalogue as, "a useful shrub bearing masses of buttercup-shaped flowers in autumn and early winter". Much sought for, gardeners had paid four [shillings](/source/shillings) to purchase this plant during the mid 20th century. The shrub was in the market for many decades, though now it is no longer sold due its invasive nature.<ref>[https://www.couriermail.com.au/ipad/easter-blooms-bring-hidden-menace/news-story/78c8a6850b8cd6e178c65381c1687c6b Easter blooms bring hidden menace] by Annette McFarlane from [The Courier](/source/The_Courier-Mail)</ref>

In [Florida](/source/Florida), ''Senna pendula'' is usually cultivated as, and misapplied to, ''[Senna bicapsularis](/source/Senna_bicapsularis)''. An investigation of herbarium specimens from the [University of Florida](/source/University_of_Florida), [University of South Florida](/source/University_of_South_Florida), and [Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden](/source/Fairchild_Tropical_Botanic_Garden) had suggested that true ''Senna bicapsularis'' is very scarce in cultivation in Florida, whereas ''Senna pendula'' is more common and widespread.<ref>[https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/excluded.aspx?id=522 Senna bicapsularis] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.</ref><ref name = UFL/>

==Invasive species==
The ''S. p. glabrata'' variety has become [naturalised](/source/Naturalisation_(biology)), and is also an environmental weed, in eastern [Australia](/source/Australia) in the coastal and sub-coastal regions of south-eastern [Queensland](/source/Queensland) and [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales), where it is found in [watercourse](/source/watercourse)s, gardens, disturbed sites, [wasteland](/source/Barren_vegetation)s, roadsides, closed forests, forest margins and urban [bushland](/source/bushland).<ref>[https://weeds.brisbane.qld.gov.au/weeds/easter-cassia Easter cassia Senna pendula var. Glabrata] by the [Brisbane City Council](/source/Brisbane_City_Council) Weed Identification Tool. Retrieved 13 April 2020</ref>

It is spread by seed, [suckers](/source/Sucker_(botany)) and dumped garden waste.<ref>[https://weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/Weeds/Cassia Cassia (Senna pendula var. Glabrata)] by NSW WeedWise</ref> Despite it being invasive, it is not a prohibited or restricted invasive plant under the [Biosecurity Act 2015](/source/Biosecurity_Act_2015).<ref>[https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/land-management/health-pests-weeds-diseases/weeds-diseases/invasive-plants/other/easter-cassia Easter cassia] by Business Queensland from Queensland Government</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Starr 070321-6034 Senna pendula.jpg|Budding flowers
File:Senna pendula6.jpg|Growing towards a tree
File:Starr 070111-3268 Senna pendula.jpg|[Cut flower](/source/Cut_flower)
File:Starr 070321-6035 Senna pendula.jpg|Seed pods
File:Senna pendula4.jpg|Ornamental plant
File:Senna pendula (Willd.) H.S.Irwin ^ Barneby - Flickr - Alex Popovkin, Bahia, Brazil (3).jpg|Leaves closeup 
File:Senna pendula (Willd.) H.S.Irwin ^ Barneby - Flickr - Alex Popovkin, Bahia, Brazil (6).jpg|Flower closeup
File:Starr 070111-3261 Senna pendula.jpg|Leaves and flowers
File:Senna pendula2.jpg|In a bushland
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Wikispecies|Senna pendula|''Senna pendula''}}
{{Commons category|Senna pendula|''Senna pendula''}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q10370080}}

bicapsularis
Category:Flora of Northeast Argentina
Category:Flora of Northwest Argentina
Category:Flora of Bolivia
Category:Flora of Brazil
Category:Flora of Central America
Category:Flora of Colombia
Category:Flora of Cuba
Category:Flora of Ecuador
Category:Flora of Hispaniola
Category:Flora of Mexico
Category:Flora of Paraguay
Category:Flora of Peru
Category:Flora of Puerto Rico
Category:Flora of Trinidad and Tobago
Category:Flora of Venezuela
Category:Flora naturalised in Australia
Category:Ornamental plants
Category:Plants described in 1809

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Senna pendula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senna_pendula) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senna_pendula?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.