Click on any image to open the slideshow
Senna occidentalis (L.)Link
Septicweed
Coffee Senna
Not native to Florida
A frequent shrub of disturbed sites in much of Florida. Native to tropical America, septicweed has been introduced throughout the southeastern United States, west onto Texas to Kansas, north to Iowa to Indiana and northeast into New York and Massachusetts. Can now be found in tropical regions worldwide.
The pinnate leaves usually have four to five pairs of ovate or broadly elliptic leaflets, sometimes 6 pairs. Senna occidentalis has a spherical gland at the base of the petioles. The yellow flowers are in groups from two to four in number at the ends of branchlets and in the upper leaf axils. The inflorescence is on a 2-5mm long peduncle branching into pedicels 10-15mm (4/10 to 6/10 in.) long supporting each flower. The fruit is a thin cylindrical pod 12-18cm (4-3/4 to 7 in.) long with a conspicuous light margin.
Senna occidentalis 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 pendula var. glabrata (Vogel)H.S.Irwin & Barneby - VALAMUERTO
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: Dec 03, 2023
