Senna multijuga

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Senna multijuga

Description

Tree up to 20(-40) m with a trunk 10-60 cm dbh, young parts generally puberulous. Leaves with 18-50 pairs of leaflets; petiole 4-30 mm; rachis with a conical gland between the lowermost pair of leaflets (often early caducous). Stipules 3-14 mm long, linear or dilated at base, early caducous. Flowers in terminal panicles up to 30 by 40 cm at the end of leafy branches; peduncles 2-4 cm, puberulous; bracts ov^te acute, tomentose, c. 2 mm long; pedicels 15-30 mm. Sepals when mature greenish yellow, obovate or orbicular, the outer c. 3 mm, the inner c. 5-7 mm. Petals yellow, usually glabrous, unequal-sized; the lowermost falcate-spathulate, sessile, 2-3 cm long; the four upper with a 4-6 mm long, slender claw, blade 1-2 cm. Stamens 7: 3 with filaments c. 10 mm and anthers 6-7 mm, curved rostrate; 4 with filaments 1-2 mm and with shorter anthers; 3 tiny staminodes. Ovary shortly stiped, glabrous; style glabrous; stigma subterminal, inconspicuous. Seeds 30-60, linear, flattened, glossy, c. 6 mm long.

Distribution

Asia-Tropical: Jawa (Jawa present); Philippines (Philippines present), Flores present, S Sumatra present, tropical South America present
Tropical South America, where several varieties have been recognized; var. multijuga has been taken into cultivation and is from the middle of the 19th century found naturalized in S India and a few places in the Malesian region, brought by the Dutch from Surinam to Java. Also planted in S Sumatra and on the Philippines. One collection from Flores does not indicate whether it is a garden plant or naturalized.

Citation

Backer & Bakh.f 1964 – In: Fl. Java: 541.
de Wit 1956 – In: Webbia: 253