''Senna acclinis'', commonly known as rainforest cassia or brush senna, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to near-coastal areas of eastern Australia. It is a shrub with

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

leaves and bright golden yellow flowers in groups of two to five and long, narrow seed pods. It is similar to other species of ''Senna'' that are environmental weeds.

Description

''Senna acclinis'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of . Its leaves are pinnate, up to long on a petiole long, with five to seven pairs of broadly elliptic leaflets up to long and wide. There is a gland between the lower one to four pairs of leaflets. From two to five bright golden yellow flowers are arranged on a peduncle long, each flower with ten fertile

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s, the

anthers The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

usually of unequal lengths and long. Flowering occurs in spring and summer the fruit is a more or less flat

pod Pod or POD may refer to: Biology * Pod (fruit), a type of fruit of a flowering plant * Husk or pod of a legume * Pod of whales or other marine mammals * "-pod", a suffix meaning "foot" used in taxonomy Electronics and computing * Proper ort ...

long and wide that ripens in summer and autumn. This species can be mistaken for other introduced ''Senna'' species that are environmental weeds.

Taxonomy

Rainforest senna was first formally described in 1863 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

who gave it the name ''Cassia acclinis'' in '' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae''. In 1998,

Barbara Rae Randell Barbara Rae Randell (born:Barbara Rae Redgen 1942) is an Australian botanist. The author's international identifier on the International Plant Names Index is 25305–1. Randell described plants in the genera ''Senna'' and ''Acacia ''Acacia ...

and Bryan Barlow changed the name to ''Senna acclinis'' in ''

Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden The Adelaide Botanic Garden is a public garden at the north-east corner of the Adelaide city centre, in the Adelaide Park Lands. It encompasses a fenced garden on North Terrace (between Lot Fourteen, the site of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital ...

''.

Distribution and habitat

''Senna acclinis'' is found in near-coastal areas of New South Wales and Queensland, growing in or on the edges of subtropical and dry rainforests. The plant is distributed in several subregions, including Barrington, Karuah Manning, Mummel Escarpment,

Wyong Wyong () is a town in the Central Coast of New South Wales, located approximately 63 km SSW of Newcastle and 89 km NNE of Sydney. Established in 1888, it is one of the two administrative centres for the local government area. Hist ...

, and Yengro.

Ecology

''Senna acclinis'' is known to be a pollination plant for several insect species, including native bees and the jack-jumper ant ''

Myrmecia nigrocincta ''Myrmecia nigrocincta'', commonly known as the jumper ant or jumping jack, is an ant of the genus ''Myrmecia (ant), Myrmecia''. The species was first described by Frederick Smith (entomologist), Frederick Smith in 1858. Colonies of this ant are ...

'', which has been recorded several times visiting the flowers of ''S. acclinis''. Flowers sprout during springs and summer.

Conservation status

The species has been classed as "endangered" under the New South Wales Government '' Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016''. The main threats to ''S. acclinis'' are clearance of habitat for development, introduced and invasive species of weeds, timber harvesting activities, and accidental removal during weed-control programs.NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (2002) Threatened Species of the Upper North Coast of NSW: Flora. (NSW NPWS, Coffs Harbour)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15536204 acclinis Endemic flora of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Endangered flora of Australia Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Plants described in 1863