Senna marilandica

Maryland senna

Family: Fabaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Maryland senna is a naturalized shrub found in southern California coastal areas in open woodlands and disturbed areas at elevations below 100 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces yellow flowers that dry nearly white, with blossoms 8 to 14 millimeters long. Growing with unbranched stems 6 to 20 decimeters tall and a glabrous structure, it has a subshrub growth habit. Its leaves feature 12 to 18 elliptic to oblong leaflets, 35 to 60 millimeters long, with olive-green surfaces and pale glaucous undersides. The fruit develops as a gently curved linear pod 6 to 11 centimeters long, containing 20 to 26 generally plump-obovate seeds.

Habitat: Open woodland, disturbed areas

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: < 100 m

Bioregions: SCo

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