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Senna marilandica

Common name:	Wild Senna	Family:	Leguminosae
Author:	(L.)Link.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:	Cassia medsgeri (Shafer.), Cassia marylandica (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-eastern N. America - Pennsylvania to Florida, Kansas and Iowa.
Habitat:	Thickets and dry roadsides[43]. Disturbed areas, sandy fields and open woods in Texas[274].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Caesalpinia pulcherrima[H] Cassia marilandica[B,E,G,H,L,Sn2,P] Ditremexa marilandica[B,P] Ditremexa medsgeri[B,P] Poinciana pulcherrima[H] S. marylandica[HORTIPLEX]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	American Senna [H,S], Maryland Senna [H], Maryland Wild Sensitive Plant [P], Maryland Wild Sensitive-plant [B], Wild Senna [L,H],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fabales. Renamed to Fabaceae -- Pea family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us(Amerindian)

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 1.5m by 0.8m . It is hardy to zone 4. It is in flower from July to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. It can fix Nitrogen. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Cardiac Cathartic Diuretic Febrifuge Poultice Vermifuge.

The leaves and seedpods are cathartic, diuretic and vermifuge[1, 11, 21, 46]. The leaves are harvested before and during flowering, the pods are harvested when fully ripe in the autumn. Both are dried for later use[238].
The leaves are a safe and effective cathartic[207, 213]. They are best used with Foeniculum vulgare seeds in order to counteract a tendency to cause gripe[207, 213]. The seedpods can also be used and are milder but slower in their action[222].
The seeds have been soaked in water until they are mucilaginous and then swallowed as a treatment for sore throats[213, 257].
The root is cardiac and febrifuge[257]. An infusion has been used in the treatment of fevers and heart problems[257]. A poultice of the root has been used in treating sores[257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most well-drained soils but prefers an open sandy loam in a sunny sheltered position[1, 11, 200]. Established plants are drought tolerant[200]. Succeeds in light shade, but the plant is much less vigorous when grown in dry shade[200].
Although fairly cold-tolerant, plants can be killed in very severe weather, so it is best to mulch the roots of mature plants in bad winters[11]. Younger plants should be mulched each winter until they are well established[200].
Slugs are very attracted to this plant[K].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[200].

Propagation

Seed - scarify and then pre-soak the seed for 2 - 3 hours in warm water before sowing it from early spring to early summer in a warm greenhouse[138]. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 12 weeks at 23° c[138]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse. Do not plant them out until the following spring[138].
Division as growth commences in spring[11].
Cuttings of moderately ripe wood, July in a frame[1].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Cassia marilandica (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.

References for Cassia marylandica (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for Cassia medsgeri (a possible synonym).

References for Senna marylandica (a possible synonym).

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[138] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. 1989
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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