Senna procumbens

Senna procumbens is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the Northern Territory in Australia. It is a herbaceous perennial or undershrub with pinnate leaves with two or three pairs of lance-shaped to narrowly elliptic leaflets, and groups of five to eight yellow flowers arranged in upper leaf axils.

Senna procumbens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Caesalpinioideae
Genus:	Senna
Species:	S. procumbens
Binomial name
Senna procumbens Randell[1]

Description

Senna procumbens is a prostrate or low-lying, mostly glabrous, herbaceous perennial or undershrub. Its leaves are pinnate, 50–80 mm (2.0–3.1 in) long including a petiole 10–12 mm (0.39–0.47 in) long, with five to eight pairs of lance-shaped to narrowly elliptic leaflets, 40–50 mm (1.6–2.0 in) long and 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) wide, spaced 8–12 mm (0.31–0.47 in) apart. There are hair-like glands between each pair of leaflets. The flowers are yellow and arranged in groups of five to eight in upper leaf axils on a peduncle 30–60 mm (1.2–2.4 in) long, each flower on a pedicel 15–20 mm (0.59–0.79 in) long. The petals are 11–13 mm (0.43–0.51 in) long and there are ten fertile stamens, the anthers of differing lengths between 4 and 5 mm (0.16 and 0.20 in) long. Flowering occurs from January to June, and the fruit is a flat pod 50–70 mm (2.0–2.8 in) long and about 8 mm (0.31 in) wide.^[2][3][4]

Taxonomy

Senna procumbens was first formally described in 1989 by Barbara Rae Randell in the Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden.^[4][5] The specific epithet (procumbens) means "procumbent".^[6]

Distribution and habitat

Senna procumbens grows among tall grasses in swamps or in forest or woodland in sandy soil. It is only known from the Pine Creek area of the Northern Territory.^[3][2][4]