Senna barclayana, commonly known as smooth senna or pepper-leaf senna,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a herbaceous perennial or subshrub with pinnate leaves with six to ten pairs of lance-shaped or narrowly elliptic leaflets, and yellow flowers in groups of six to ten.
Senna barclayana is an erect, herbaceous perennial subshrub that typically grows to a height of up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in). Its leaves are pinnate, 80–120 mm (3.1–4.7 in) long on a petiole 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) long, with six to ten pairs of lance-shaped or narrowly elliptic leaflets 20–50 mm (0.79–1.97 in) long and 4–9 mm (0.16–0.35 in) wide. There is a sessile gland near the base of the petiole, and a stipule that falls off as the leaf opens. The flowers are yellow and arranged in upper leaf axils in pairs or groups of six to ten on a peduncle 20–35 mm (0.79–1.38 in) long, each flower on a pedicel 12–20 mm (0.47–0.79 in) long. The petals are up to 20 mm (0.79 in) long and there are six fertile stamens and four staminodes, the longest anthers about 3 mm (0.12 in) long. Flowering occurs all year, and the fruit is a cylindrical pod 30–50 mm (1.2–2.0 in) long.[2][3][4]
This species was first formally described in 1827 by Robert Sweet who gave it the name Cassia barclayana in his Flora Australasica.[5][6] In 1988, Barbara Rae Randell transferred the species to Senna as Senna barclayana in the Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden.[4][7][4] The specific epithet (barclayana) honours Robert Barclay of Bury-hill (1751–1830).[6][8]
Senna barclayana grows in open forest southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, but its range is increasing and it is now naturalised in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.[2][3][9]
Foliage in Berlin Botanic Garden Senna barclayana, commonly known as smooth senna or pepper-leaf senna, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a herbaceous perennial or subshrub with pinnate leaves with six to ten pairs of lance-shaped or narrowly elliptic leaflets, and yellow flowers in groups of six to ten.
