Senna hebecarpa

Senna hebecarpa

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Tribe: Cassieae
Subtribe: Cassiinae
Genus: Senna
Species: S. hebecarpa
Binomial name
Senna hebecarpa
(Fernald) H.S.Irwin & Barneby [1]
Synonyms

Cassia hebecarpa Fernald
Cassia hebecarpa Fernald var. longipila E.L. Braun
Senna hebecarpa (Fernald) Irwin & Barneby var. longipila (E.L. Braun) C.F. Reed[2]

Senna hebecarpa, with the common names American senna[3] and wild senna, is a species of legume native to eastern North America.[2][1][4] [5]

Distribution

The plant is found from the Great Lakes region and Maine southwards through the Eastern United States, in the Appalachian Mountains and Atlantic Plains, to Georgia.[2][6]

It is found in moist open woodlands, and in disturbed areas.[6]

Description

Senna hebecarpa grows as a sparsely branched perennial shrub. It has axils of compound leaves.[7]

Clusters of light yellow to orange flowers bloom through July and August in North America.[7]

Ecology

It is a larval host and nectar source for the Cloudless Giant Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) butterfly.[7] It is also of special value to native bumble bees.[7] [8]

Conservation status in the United States

It is endangered in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, threatened in Vermont, as historical in Rhode Island,[9] and as threatened in Connecticut.[10]

Uses

Senna hebecarpa is cultivated as an ornamental plant, for use as a perennial wildflower and flowering shrub in traditional and wildlife gardens, in natural landscaping projects, and for habitat restoration projects.[7][4][5]

Native American ethnobotany

The Cherokee use an infusion of the plant for various purposes, including taking it for cramps, heart trouble, giving it to children and adults as a purgative and for fever, and taking it for 'blacks' (hands and eye sockets turn black). They also give an infusion of the root specifically to children for fever. They use a poultice the root for sores, and they use a compound infusion for fainting spells. They also use a compound for pneumonia.[11] The Iroquois use the plant as a worm remedy and take a compound decoction as a laxative.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 ITIS Standard Report Page: Senna hebecarpa
  2. 1 2 3 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (2014): Senna hebecarpa. Retrieved 8-24-2014.
  3. ↑ "Senna hebecarpa". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 Blanchan, N. (1916): Wild Flowers: An Aid to Knowledge of our Wild Flowers and their Insect Visitors. TXT fulltext at Project Gutenberg
  5. 1 2 Blanchan, N. (1917): Wild Flowers Worth Knowing. HTML or TXT fulltext at Project Gutenberg
  6. 1 2 "Senna hebecarpa". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network: ''Senna hebecarpa
  8. ↑ The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation: Pollinator Conservation Program
  9. ↑ "Plants Profile for Senna hebecarpa (American senna)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  10. ↑ "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015". State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 1 January 2018. (Note: This list is newer and updated from the one used by plants.usda.gov)
  11. ↑ Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey, 1975, Cherokee Plants and Their Uses -- A 400 Year History, Sylva, N.C. Herald Publishing Co., page 54
  12. ↑ Herrick, James William, 1977, Iroquois Medical Botany, State University of New York, Albany, PhD Thesis, page 362


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