Senna Species, Wild Senna, American Senna

Fast-growing and showy, the first year it grew from a foot-tall sprout (purchased at a farmer's market) to over 8 feet tall, covered with...Read More beautiful yellow flowers starting in late summer (in FL). Attractive to a range of yellow butterflies. Still going well in mid-Dec. Huge amounts of seed pods which I have just harvested because I read they can pop open and spread "explosively". I would recommend as a background plant in a native garden because of its height and the fact it is all foliage until it flowers. Note that it is reported to not transplant well due to a strong tap root.

This plant is becoming more common in the plant trade. I grow it mainly for its attractive silvery foliage, though the small, plentiful ...Read Moreblooms are very attractive in the late summer garden. It requires little attention and does not mind dry soil, however it will "pout" by folding its leaves up when it does get dry. This drought-resistance is largely thanks to a deep tap-root that makes transplanting difficult. Make sure you know where you want it before you plant it.

Host species to Eurema nicippe (Sleepy Orange), Eurema lisa (Little Sulfur), and Phoebis sennae eubule (Cloudless Sulfur) caterpillars in...Read More Illinois.

It is really hard to tell the difference between S. marilandica and S. hebecarpa. S. hebecarpa has longer white hairs to the pistils of the flowers than S. marilandica. The nectar glands in S. marilandica are more like a short cylindar but they can also be rounded or domed while the nectar glands in S. hebecarpa are supposedly short and shaped more like a club. Supposedly there are differences in the seed pod segments that enable us to tell them apart however I've never quite taken the time to figure out the differences.