''Senna magnifolia'' 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 northern Australia. It is an erect, spreading or straggling, mostly

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

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 with four to six pairs of broadly oblong to round leaflets, and yellow flowers arranged in groups of twenty to sixty, with seven 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 in each flower.

Description

''Senna magnifolia'' is an erect, spreading or straggling shrub that typically grows to a height of up to . The leaves are up to long on a petiole long, with four to six pairs of broadly oblong to round leaflets long and wide, spaced apart. The flowers are yellow and arranged in dense groups of twenty to sixty in leaf axils on a peduncle long, each flower on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long. The petals are of unequal lengths, long and there are seven fertile

s and three

staminode In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. ...

s in each flower, two

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 ...

long and the other five long. Flowering occurs from May to July and the fruit is a flat pod long and about wide.

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1859 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 magnifolia'' in '' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae'', from specimens he collected near the Gilbert River at an altitude of . In 1990, Barbara Rae Randell transferred the species to ''Senna'' as ''Senna magnifolia'' in the ''

Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens 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, Adelaide, North Terrace (between Lot Fourteen, the site of the old ...

''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''magnifolia'') means "large-leaved".

Distribution and habitat

''Senna magnifolia'' grows on stony hillsides, limestone outcrops and quartzite hills in the

Central Kimberley The Central Kimberley, an interim Australian bioregion, is located in the central Kimberley region of Western Australia, comprising an area of .

Dampierland Dampierland is an interim Australian bioregion in Western Australia.IBRA Version 6.1

Great Sandy Desert The Great Sandy Desert is an interim Australian bioregion,IBRA Version 6.1
data

Ord Victoria Plain The Ord Victoria Plain, an interim Australian bioregion, is located in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, comprising .

and

Victoria Bonaparte The Victoria Bonaparte, an interim Australian bioregion, is located in the Northern Territory and Western Australia,

bioregions of northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory and northern Queensland.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15537613 magnifolia Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Western Australia Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1859 Fabales of Australia Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller