Senna hirsuta (L.) H. S. Irwin & Barneby, Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Risk assessment of Senna hirsuta from the Government of Queensland, Australia (PDF format)

Other Latin names:  Cassia hirsuta L.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: mao jia jue ming

English: stinking cassia

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Herbs or shrubs, 0.6-2.5 m tall. Young branches, petioles, and rachises of leaves densely yellowish brown villous. Leaves 10-20 cm; petiole 3-6 cm, with a sessile, blackish brown, ovoid-oblong gland near insertion; rachis 7-10 cm, without glands; leaflets 3-7 pairs, ovate-oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 3-9 x 1.5-3.5 cm, papery, both surfaces villous, base subrounded, apex acuminate. Racemes axillary or several in axils of apical leaves forming a leafy panicle; peduncles and pedicels villous; bracts early caducous, subulate, hairy. Sepals 5, unequal in size, densely villous, 2 outer small, ovate to obovate, ca. 5 mm, 3 inner puberulent, similar but larger, 7-8 mm. Petals yellow, obovate, 1.4-1.8 cm, glabrous. Stamens 10, 6 or 7 of them fertile, unequal in length, anthers opening by apical pores, staminodes 3 or 4. Ovary hirsute, subsessile; style short, glabrous; stigma small. Legume long, slender, flat, 10-20 x ca. 0.5 cm, densely hirsute on surfaces of valves. Seeds numerous, flat, obovoid, 3-4 mm"  (Flora of China online).

"A coarse herb becoming softly woody in age or a shrub 0.5-3 m high.  From other weedy sennas occurring in Fiji, Senna hirsuta is readily distinguished by its abundant, pale indument.  The leaves are usually 10-25 cm long, with (2-) 3-6 pairs of accrescent leaflets, the distal ones with ovate to elliptic, acuminate blades up to 10.5 x 4 cm.  The 2-8-flowerred racemes have pedicels 10-25 mm long at anthesis and yellow petals up to 8-15 mm long.  The pods are stiffly ascending or outwardly recurved, up to 18 cm long, and very slender" (Smith, 1985; p. 111-112).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "established as a weed in villages and plantations, along roadsides, and on rocky shores of rivers" (Smith, 1985; p. 111-112).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  South America, most likely Brazil (Smith, 1985; p. 111-112).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Ovalau Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 111-112) Voucher cited: Smith 7389
Fiji Fiji Islands	Taveuni Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 111-112) Voucher cited: DA 11517
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 111-112) Vouchers cited: Greenwood 229, 787; DA 10892; DA 10890; DA 16659; Smith 4328; DA 5826; DA 11344; DA 11362; DA 2554; DA 11826; Meebold 16656
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 89)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 73) Vouchers cited: Franc 2240, Déméné in MacKee 15035, MacKee 16069, MacKee 39109, Renevier in MacKee 44396 Spontané
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago		Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty] (1984) (p. 218) Only collected in the area of Toma and Papratava.
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced invasive	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 263) Occasional in waste places in the settled areas at low altitudes.
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Vanuatu (Republic of)		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 89)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	Australian Biological Resources Study (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Panama (Republic of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) "Cultivated in Guangdong, Yunnan".
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 135) As Cassia hirsuta L.
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 79) Naturalised
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Senna hirsuta, please let us know.