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Senna pendula (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.)H.S.Irwin & Barneby var. glabrata (Vogel)H.S.Irwin & Barneby
Valamuerto
Easter Casia
Christmas Senna
Synonym(s): Cassia bicapsularis
Not native to Florida
This plant is an invasive exotic that is altering native plant communities by displacing native species, changing community structures or ecological functions, or hybridizing with natives.
This species should never be planted (many with this designation are prohibited by law), and generally should be removed whenever possible.
Valamuerto is an occasional shrub of disturbed sites and landscapes in central and south Florida. This South American native has been introduced into Florida, Texas, Arizona and California. In south Florida it is a particularly invasive, moving into hardwood hammocks, basin swamps, coastal strands and canal banks.
Growing to 4m (13 ft.) tall, it blooms in fall and winter with many yellow flowers appearing in three to 12 flowered racemes at the tips of stems. The petals are 3-4cm (1-1/8 to 1-9/16 in.) across with prominent curved stamens and filament. The fruit is a brown, slender, glabrous cylindric pod 7-12cm (2-3/4 to 4-3/4 in.) long. The alternate leaves are pinnately compound with three to six pairs of oblong leaflets with rounded tips. The terminal leaflets are longest and up to 4cm (~1-1/2 in.) long. Senna pendula glabrata has a spherical gland on top of the rachis between the lowermost leaflets, and also sometimes some of the other leaflets.
Senna pendula is a member of the Fabaceae - Pea family.
Other species of the Senna genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Senna didymobotrya - AFRICAN SENNA
Senna ligustrina - PRIVET WILD SENSITIVE PLANT
Senna mexicana var. chapmanii (Isely)H.S.Irwin & Barneby - CHAPMAN'S WILD SENSITIVE PLANT
Senna obtusifolia - COFFEEWEED
Senna occidentalis - SEPTICWEED
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
iNaturalist profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Nov 05, 2023
