''Senna artemisioides'', the wormwood senna, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the pea

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Fabaceae. It is

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 else ...

to Australia, where it is found in all mainland states and territories. Other common names include silver senna, silver cassia or feathery cassia - although "cassia" generally refers to the largest-growing Cassiinae. Some of its distinct subspecies also have common names of their own. The Latin specific epithet ''artemisioides'' means “resembling ''

Artemisia Artemisia may refer to: People * Artemisia I of Caria (fl. 480 BC), queen of Halicarnassus under the First Persian Empire, naval commander during the second Persian invasion of Greece * Artemisia II of Caria (died 350 BC), queen of Caria under th ...

''”, a different group of plants often known as wormwood.

Description

This is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

shrub that grows up to in height. It has grey-green

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 with between 1 and 8 pairs of leaflets. It produces an abundance of yellow “pea” flowers in winter and spring which are about 1.5 cm in diameter, followed by 2 to 7 cm long flat green pods which age to dark brown. The species adapts to a wide range of climatic conditions, but is susceptible to frost, especially when young. It prefers dry, well-drained sites with full sun. As an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

, it is propagated readily from seed, which should first be briefly immersed in boiling water. This plant has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

's Award of Garden Merit.

Taxonomy and systematics

The species was first described in 1825 by

Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré (September 4, 1789 – January 16, 1854) was a French botanist. Biography Gaudichaud was born in Angoulême, to J-J. Gaudichaud and Rose (Mallat) Gaudichaud. He studied pharmacology informally at Cognac and Angoulême, ...

based on work by

Augustin Pyramus de Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candoll ...

and placed in '' Cassia'', but nowadays it has been moved to '' Senna''. However, for a long time this plant was erroneously known as '' Cassia eremophila'' which is a true species of ''Cassia'' called desert cassia, described by

Julius Rudolph Theodor Vogel Julius Rudolph Theodor Vogel (30 July 1812 – 17 December 1841) was a German botanist.Biographical sketch by Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus, translated by Miles Joseph Berkeley. In Life He was born in Berlin, and studied at the Friedrich-Wilhelm ...

. A large number of formerly independent species are provisionally considered subspecies of ''S. artemisioides'': * ssp. ''alicia'' Randell * ssp. ''artemisioides'' * ssp. ''filifolia'' Randell * ssp. ''helmsii'' (Symon) Randell – blunt-leaved cassia * ssp. ''oligophylla'' (F.Muell.) Randell – blunt-leaved cassia * ssp. ''petiolaris'' Randell woody cassia * ssp. ''quadrifolia'' Randell :(''Senna quadrifolia'' Burm. is a synonym of '' Chamaecrista absus'') * ssp. ''sturtii'' (R.Br.) Randell – Sturt's cassia * ssp. ''zygophylla'' (Benth.) Randell Some hybridogenic subspecies have also been named: * nothosubsp. × ''artemisioides'' * ssp. × ''coriacea'' (Benth.) Randell * nothosubsp. × ''coriacea'' (Benth.) Randell :(''Cassia coriacea'' Benth. is a synonym of '' Chamaecrista coriacea'') * nothosubsp. × ''sturtii'' (R.Br.) Randell In addition, there are apparently at least 2 undescribed

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

: * ''Senna artemisioides'' "

James Range James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

(P.L.Latz 18528)" * ''Senna artemisioides'' " Kuyunba (B.Pitts 113)" Altogether, ''S. artemisioides'' might be best considered a

form taxon Form classification is the classification of organisms based on their morphology, which does not necessarily reflect their biological relationships. Form classification, generally restricted to palaeontology, reflects uncertainty; the goal of s ...

whose

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

diversity is still largely unresolved.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q151074 artemisioides Endemic flora of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Rosids of Western Australia Fabales of Australia Garden plants of Australia Drought-tolerant plants

Description

Taxonomy and systematics

References

Further reading

External links