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• All other flowering non-woody plants
• All other herbaceous, flowering dicots
• Senna hebecarpa

Senna hebecarpa — northern wild senna

Facts

Northern wild senna was once widespread throughout New England, but has been reduced to half a dozen of the 95 documented populations. It occurs in disturbed habitats with damp soil, and despite its rarity the plant is vigorous and self-seeding in garden conditions.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), floodplain (river or stream floodplains), forest edges, meadows and fields, shores of rivers or lakes

Characteristics

• Clonal plantlets

  Bulbils

  the plant does not appear to have bulbils

  Bulblets replace flowers

  there are no bulblets where the flowers are located

• Flowers

  Anther attachment

  the anther is attached by its base to the filament

  Anther opening

  the anthers have small holes or openings at the tips

  Anther spurs

  the anthers do not have spurs on them

  Calyx symmetry

  there is only one way to evenly divide the calyx (the calyx is bilaterally symmetrical)

  Carpels fused

  • NA
  • the carpel is solitary or (if 2 or more) the carpels are not fused to one another

  Cleistogamous flowers

  there are no cleistogamous flowers on the plan

  Corolla morphology

  NA

  Corolla palate

  no

  Corona lobe length

  0 mm

  Epicalyx

  the flower does not have an epicalyx

  Epicalyx number of parts

  0

  Filament surface

  the filament is smooth, with no hairs or scales

  Flower description

  the flower has a superior ovary and a hypanthium

  Flower diameter

  16–20 mm

  Flower number

  9–20

  Flower orientation

  the flower points upwards or is angled outwards

  Flower petal color

  yellow

  Flower reproductive parts

  the flower has both pollen- and seed-producing parts

  Flower symmetry

  there is no way to evenly divide the flower (the flower is asymmetrical)

  Flowers sunken into stem

  no

  Form of style

  the style is narrow at the tip and unbranched

  Fused stamen clusters

  NA

  Fusion of sepals and petals

  • both the petals and sepals are separate and not fused
  • the petals or the sepals are fused into a cup or tube

  Hairs on flower stalk

  the flower stalk has hairs on it

  Hairs on inflorescence

  the axis of the inflorescence has hairs entirely without glands

  Horns in hoods (Asclepias)

  NA

  Hypanthium

  the flower has a hypanthium

  Inflorescence one-sided

  the flowers are arrayed in a spiral around the inflorescence axis or branches, or occur singly, or in several ranks

  Inner tepals (Rumex)

  NA

  Length of flower stalk

  12–15 mm

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of carpels

  1

  Number of pistils

  1

  Number of sepals, petals or tepals

  there are five petals, sepals, or tepals in the flower

  Number of styles

  1

  Ovary position

  the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal and sepal arrangement

  the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures

  Petal and sepal colors

  yellow

  Petal appearance

  the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

  Petal folding in bud

  the petals in bud are arranged in a cycle with edges overlapping like roof shingles (imbricate)

  Petal folds or pleats

  the petals of the flower do not have folds or plaits

  Petal hairs (Viola)

  NA

  Petal length

  10–15 mm

  Petal number

  5

  Petal tips (Cuscuta)

  NA

  Raceme attachment (Veronica)

  NA

  Scales inside corolla

  no

  Sepal and petal color

  the sepals are different from the petals

  Sepal appendages

  the sepals do not have appendages on them

  Sepal appendages (Oenothera)

  NA

  Sepal color

  • green to brown
  • yellow

  Sepal length

  5–6 mm

  Sepal number

  5

  Sepal uniformity

  one or more of the sepals is much narrower or shorter than the others

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are separate from one another

  Stamen morphology

  the stamens within a cycle differ in length or width

  Stamen number

  7

  Style petal-like

  the styles are not petal-like

  Umbel flower reproductive parts

  NA

  Upper lip of bilabiate corolla

  NA

• Fruits or seeds

  Achene relative orientation

  NA

  Achene shape

  NA

  Achene surface (Polygonum)

  NA

  Achene type

  NA

  Berry color

  NA

  Capsule color (Viola)

  NA

  Capsule ribs

  NA

  Capsule splitting

  • NA
  • the capsule splits by two main valves, teeth or pores

  Fruit (pyxis) dehiscence

  NA

  Fruit cross-section

  the fruit is roughly quadrangular in cross-secgtion

  Fruit features (Brassicaceae)

  NA

  Fruit length

  70–120 mm

  Fruit length relative to sepals

  the fruit is longer than its associated sepals

  Fruit locules

  one

  Fruit shape

  • the fruit is flat or strongly compressed
  • the fruit is obloid (longer than wide and with rounded ends)

  Fruit type (general)

  • the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe
  • the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe

  Fruit type (specific)

  the fruit is a legume (a fruit that splits into two valves, but only has a single carpel; think of a pea pod)

  Fruit width

  5–7 mm

  Hairs on fruit

  • the fruits are not hairy
  • the fruits have hairs on them

  Legumes (Fabaceae)

  the legume has internal partitions arranged cross-wise along the fruit

  Mericarp length

  0 mm

  Mericarp segment shape (Desmodium)

  NA

  Other markings on berry

  NA

  Placenta arrangement

  the plant has parietal placentation, where ovules develop on the wall or slight outgrowths of the wall forming broken partitions within a compound ovary

  Rows of seeds in fruit (Brassicaceae)

  NA

  Schizocarpic fruit compression

  NA

  Schizocarpic fruit segments

  0

  Seed relative length

  the seed is about as long as it is wide

  Septum in fruit (Brassicaceae)

  NA

  Wings on fruit

  the fruit does not have wings on it

  prickles on fruits

  the fruits do not have thorn-like defensive structures

• Glands or sap

  Glands on leaf blade

  the leaf blades do not have glandular dots or scales

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

  Sap color

  the sap is clear

• Growth form

  Growth form

  the plant is an herb (it has self-supporting stems)

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Parasitism

  the plant is not parasitic

  Plant color

  the leaves or young stems of the plant are green

  Plants darken when dry

  no

  Spines on plant

  the plant has no spines

• Leaves

  Bracteole number (Apiaceae)

  0

  Bracteoles

  there are no bracteoles on the plant

  Bracts in plantain (Plantago)

  NA

  Final leaf segment length (compound lvs only)

  30–40 mm

  Final leaf segment length to width ratio (compound lvs only)

  2.3–3.5

  Floral bracts

  the flower does not have bracts

  Hairs on underside of leaf

  • the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
  • the underside of the leaf is not hairy, or it has very few hairs

  Hairs on upper side of leaf

  • the upper side of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
  • the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or it has very few hairs

  Leaf arrangement

  alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Leaf blade base

  the leaf has a distinct leaf stalk (petiole)

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is rounded

  Leaf blade edges

  the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)

  Leaf blade primary vein pattern

  the secondary veins branch off at intervals from the primary vein

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is oblanceolate (lance-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle of the leaf blade)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color

  Leaf blade texture

  the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)

  Leaf blade veins

  the leaf blade has one main vein running from the base towards the tip (it may or may not have secondary veins)

  Leaf duration

  the leaves drop off in winter (or they whither but persist on the plant)

  Leaf form

  the leaves are green, with an expanded blade and a leaf-like texture

  Leaf spines

  there are no spines on the leaf edges

  Leaf stalk

  the leaves have leaf stalks

  Leaf teeth and lobes

  the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)

  Leaf tip

  • the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed)
  • the tip of the leaf blade is obtuse (bluntly pointed)

  Leaf type

  the leaves are compound (made up of two or more discrete leaflets

  Leaflet number

  6–10

  Leaves per node

  there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Pinnately compound leaf type

  the pinnately compound leaves lack a terminal leaflet (and usually have an even number of leaflets per axis)

  Specific leaf type

  the leaf has a row of two or more lobes on each side of the central axis

  Stipels

  there are no stipels at the bases of the petiolules

  Stipule features

  NA

  Stipule shape

  NA

  Stipules

  the plant has stipules

  Teeth per side of leaf blade

  0

• Place

  Habitat

  • terrestrial
  • wetlands

  Specific habitat

  • edges of forests
  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • meadows or fields
  • river or stream floodplains
  • shores of rivers or lakes

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Branched tendrils

  NA

  Hair between stem nodes

  • the stem has hairs between the nodes
  • the stem has no hairs between the nodes

  Leaves on stem

  there is at least one full leaf above the base of the flowering stem

  Plant height

  50–150 cm

  Stem orientation

  the stems are upright or angled outwards

  Stem spacing

  the plant is solitary, or a few plants are growing together

  Tendril origin

  NA

  Tendrils

  the plant does not have tendrils

Wetland status

Usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACW)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae