Senna obtusifolia(L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby

Chinese sennaJava-beanarsenic weedblunt-leaved sennacoffeeweedfoetid sennasickle sennasicklepod

WFO wfo-0000164399 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Senna obtusifolia, photographed by Alan Weakley
fig. a Alan Weakley, CC0 1.0 / 2022-05-05 / obs. 195006956
Senna obtusifolia, photographed by Kim
fig. b Kim, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 167448931
Senna obtusifolia, photographed by jim isleib
fig. c jim isleib, CC0 1.0 / obs. 166310451
Senna obtusifolia, photographed by Ryan Watson
fig. d Ryan Watson, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 163123091
Senna obtusifolia, photographed by Nonbinary-Naturalist
fig. e Nonbinary-Naturalist, CC0 1.0 / obs. 160563174
Senna obtusifolia, photographed by মহা বিদ্রোহী BUT রণ ক্লান্ত
fig. f মহা বিদ্রোহী BUT রণ ক্লান্ত, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 160435563
Senna obtusifolia, photographed by Athena Philips
fig. g Athena Philips, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 154248623
Senna obtusifolia, photographed by Samuel A Schmid, PhD, PWS
fig. h Samuel A Schmid, PhD, PWS, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 153753032

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 46 botanical countries

Regions where Senna obtusifolia is native: Florida, Kentucky, Mexican Pacific Is., Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Cayman Is., Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, French Guiana, Galápagos, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Southwest Caribbean, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is. FloridaKentuckyMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestMissouriOklahomaTexasArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestBelizeBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaDominican RepublicEcuadorFrench GuianaGuyanaHaitiHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáParaguayPeruPuerto RicoSouthwest CaribbeanSurinameTrinidad-TobagoVenezuela BahamasCayman Is.GalápagosLeeward Is.Netherlands AntillesVenezuelan AntillesWindward Is.
Native distribution of Senna obtusifolia, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Bahamas BAH
Belize BLZ
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Cayman Is. CAY
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
French Guiana FRG
Galápagos GAL
Guyana GUY
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Netherlands Antilles NLA
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Southwest Caribbean SWC
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Venezuela VEN
Venezuelan Antilles VNA
Windward Is. WIN
Florida FLA NORTHERN AMERICA
Kentucky KTY
Mexican Pacific Is. MXI
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
Missouri MSO
Oklahoma OKL
Texas TEX

Not drawn on the map: Mexican Pacific Is.. We hold no public-domain boundary for this region, so it is listed rather than guessed at.

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 10 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Cassia obtusifolia L.
  • Cassia rogeonii Ghesq.
  • Cassia tora var. humilis Collad.
  • Cassia tora var. humilis Pers.
  • Cassia tora var. obtusifolia (L.) Haines
  • Cassia toroides Raf.
  • Cassia toroides Roxb.
  • Emelista obtusifolia (L.) Raf.
  • Senna tora var. obtusifolia (L.) X.Y.Zhu
  • Senna toroides Roxb.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.