Senna covesii

Coues' cassia

Family: Fabaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Coues' cassia is a rare (CNPS 2B.2) California native shrub found in the southern desert regions in dry, sandy desert washes and slopes at elevations of 330 to 760 meters. Flowering from March to April and in fall, this plant produces golden-yellow flowers 12 millimeters long with prominent veining in small axillary racemes. Growing 3 to 6 decimeters tall with a dense white to gray hairy appearance, it forms a leafy subshrub with a compact structure. Its leaves feature 4 to 8 overlapped, opposite elliptic leaflets with bristle-like stipules, each leaflet 10 to 25 millimeters long. The plant produces erect, persistent fruits 2 to 5 centimeters long that remain on the shrub after flowering.

Habitat: Dry, sandy desert washes, slopes

Bloom period: Mar-Apr(fall)

Elevation: 330-760 m

Bioregions: DSon

California counties: Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Imperial

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