Senna armata

Spiny senna, Spiny Senna

Family: Fabaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Spiny senna is a California native shrub found in the southeastern desert region in sandy or gravelly washes at elevations of 100 to 1,400 meters. Flowering from March to July, this plant produces distinctive yellow to salmon-red flowers 8 to 12 millimeters long in terminal racemes. Growing as an armed shrub 0.5 to 1 meter tall with green grooved branches that emerge from the base, it has a sparse, almost leafless appearance most of the year. Its leaves feature 4 to 8 small, asymmetric ovate leaflets that are short-lived, falling away to leave the main stem with a weak spine at its tip. The shrub produces elongated lanceolate fruits 2.5 to 4 centimeters long that remain straight when mature.

Habitat: Uncommon. Sandy or gravelly washes

Bloom period: Mar-Jul

Elevation: 100-1400 m

Bioregions: D

California counties: Inyo, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Mariposa

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.