American Sicklepod
Senna obtusifolia
Its leaves exhibit 'sleep movements' (nyctinasty), folding tightly together at night and drooping to conserve moisture.
- Scientific name
- Senna obtusifolia
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Fabales › Fabaceae › Senna
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- increasing
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Disturbed soils, pastures, agricultural fields, roadsides, and sunny waste grounds.
- Diet
- Photosynthetic (requires sunlight, water, and soil nutrients).
- Range
- North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Oceania
- Size
- 0.5 to 2 meters tall
- Lifespan
- 1 year (annual plant)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Herbicides, intensive agricultural tilling, and targeted fungal pathogens.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to touch, but highly toxic if ingested due to anthraquinones which cause degenerative myopathy in livestock and severe digestive distress in humans. Keep pets and cattle away. If consumed, seek medical or veterinary attention immediately.
Senna obtusifolia ( Chinese senna , American sicklepod or sicklepod ) is a legume in the genus Senna , sometimes separated in the monotypic genus Diallobus . It grows wild in North, Central, and South America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, and is considered a particularly serious weed in many places. It has a long-standing history of confusion with Senna tora and that taxon in many sources actually refers to the present species.
Photo: Douglas Goldman, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/16665412-2cc7-4177-9694-ee709a54bac6.md