Senna surattensis seed
LATIN NAME: SENNA SURATTENSIS
COMMON NAME: Senna, Golden Cassia, Glaucous Cassia
The senna surattensis is one of the brightest of the flowering shrubs of the warm regions, and its clusters of the golden-yellow flowers and its graceful, feathery leaves have made it a favourite of the gardens and the streets of the tropics and the subtropics. It grows as a spreading, evergreen shrub or a small tree of the pea family, reaching up to five metres or more, with a rounded, dense crown of the spreading branches bearing alternate, pinnate, feathery, bright-green leaves with the small, oval leaflets and, through much of the year, clusters of the bright, golden-yellow, five-petalled flowers in the axils of the leaves, followed by the flat, brown, segmented seed pods. It is a species of the flowering shrub, native to the warm regions of South and Southeast Asia, while it has been cultivated widely as an ornamental, and it is known as the senna or the golden cassia.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The senna surattensis has a real and distinguished place in research. It has been studied in the horticulture and the ornamental-plant science, since the senna is one of the most popular of the flowering shrubs of the warm regions, and the researchers have examined its cultivation, its flowering and its value in the landscape, while the bright, golden-yellow flowers have drawn attention in the international horticultural press. The plant has also been studied in the chemistry and the natural-products science, since the sennas are known for the anthraquinone compounds in their leaves and pods, and the researchers have examined the plant, its constituents and its composition, while the study of the senna compounds has been of continuing interest, and the plant is best appreciated as a subject of study and an ornamental rather than a casual remedy, since the compounds of the sennas are powerful. The species has also been studied in botany, since it is a member of the pea family and a relative of the other sennas and the cassias, and its relationships and its distribution have been examined, while the pinnate, feathery leaves and the golden flowers of the senna have been of interest to the botanists. For a shrub of such brightness, the senna surattensis has a rich and distinguished record of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
To grow the Senna from seed, ecologically, the senna is a generous shrub of the warm gardens and the roadsides. Its bright, golden-yellow flowers feed the bees and the butterflies through much of the year, and its dense, rounded crown gives a shade and a shelter to the small creatures, while its flat seed pods feed the birds and the small animals. Its economic value is real: the senna is prized as one of the most popular of the flowering shrubs for the warm garden and the street planting, and its value has drawn attention in the international horticultural press, while its long flowering season and its easy cultivation have made it a favourite of the gardens and the parks of the warm regions. To raise the senna, sow the seeds in pots of moist, open compost in a warm, sunny place, keep them gently watered, and grow the little shrubs on in the sun.
sow the seeds in pots of moist, open compost in a warm, sunny place, keep the young sennas gently watered, and grow the little shrubs on in the sun.
Golden Cassia or Glaucous Cassia is a shrub or a small tree with clusters of bright yellow flowers. Cassia surattensis typically reaches a height of 15 feet and develops a rounded dense crown and silver gray bark. Leaves are green, even pinnate, 4-10 x 1 1/2-3 inches, with 6-10 pairs of leaflets, but without a terminal one. Leaflets are oblong-elliptical, 3/4-1 3/4 x 3/8-5/8 inches. Flowers are borne in upright clusters at branch ends and nearly cover the canopy with faintly fragrant yellow blooms about 1-1 1/2 inches wide. Bees and butterflies visit the flowers. Fruits are pods, flat, brownish when mature, 3-6 inches long, splitting open to release 4-15 flat seeds. These are used for propagation. This tree can be grown in a range of well-drained soils; it requires vigorous pruning and is short-lived and easily toppled by wind and needs staking for 2-3 years after planting. In landscaping, this flowering tree can be a specimen or accent tree in gardens, along roads and in parking lots, and in a butterfly garden.
Growing Instructions
- Scarify the seeds by nicking or sanding the seed coat.
- Soak the seeds in water for 24 hours.
- Put a mixture of potting soil and sand or perlite into a pot with drainage holes in the base.
- Sow the seeds on the soil.
- Cover the seeds with a layer of soil that is 0.5 inches thick.
- Water the seeds. Keep the soil moist but not wet.
- The seeds take 3-6 weeks to germinate.
- When the plants are a few inches tall, they can be transplanted.
Cassia glauca