Seymeria cassioides (J.F. Gmel.) S.F. Blake

Yaupon Black Senna

Herb

Annual

Vascular

Black Senna is a native herbaceous herb in the Broomrape family (Orobanchaceae). It occurs throughout most of Alabama. Black Senna is a root hemi-parasite with a high affinity for pines (Pinus sp.). It is commonly found parasitizing pines growing in flatwoods and savannahs, on dry ridges, and in rocky woods. It is an annual from a tap root. Seedlings that are able to form haustorial attachments to the roots of a host plant are able to continue their growth and development. Seedlings that fail to establish a host attachment wither and die. Stems are erect, angled, much branched, green or reddish in color, and glandular pubescent. Plants are from 1-4 feet in height. Leaves are opposite, sessile or short petiolate, and pinnately dissected into filiform segments. Flowers are solitary in the leaf axils. Individual flowers have a short stalk and a calyx composed of 5 narrow sepals united at their base, and 5 yellow corolla lobes. The interior of the corolla is marked with reddish brown spots or lines. The fruit is a capsule. Dead plants turn black due to iriod compounds that become visible as the chlorophyll breaks down. Black Senna is capable of parasitizing all commercially important southern pines, and heavy infestations can lead to loss of tree vigor and even death. Black Senna is a larval food plant for the Common Buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia).--A. Diamond

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Native FAC (NWPL)

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