Senna alata

Senna alata (L.) Roxb.

Family       : caesalpinioideae

Common Name : ചക്രതകര (Mal)

             Candle Bush (Eng)

    दादमुर्दन (Hin)    

     IUCN Status     : Least Concern (LC)-

Erect shrubs to 4 m tall. Leaves 28-60 cm long; leaflets 6-12 pairs, 4-13 x 2-6 cm, oblong to obovate-oblong, apex rounded, base rounded to subcordate; stipules 1-2 cm long, deltoid, base auriculate, apex acute to acuminate. Inflorescence terminal or axillary, many-flowered spicate raceme, 40-60 cm long. Flowers yellow; pedicels 4-8 mm long; bracts petaloid, yellow, 1-2 cm long, ovate-elliptic, subacute. Sepals 1-1.5 cm long, yellow. Petals yellow, 1.5-2 cm long, obovate. Stamens 10, anthers 2 large, 5 medium-sized, and 3 small. Pod 9-14 x 1.5-2 cm, linear, 4-winged, septate, dehiscent; seeds many, 5-7 x 4-5 mm, rhomboid, compressed, dark brown.

Candle Bush is a shrub that stands 3-4 m tall, with compound leaves 50-80 cm long. Leaflets are 6-12 pairs, 4-13 x 2-6 cm, oblong to obovate-oblong, base rounded to somewhat heart-shaped, tip rounded. The leaves close in the dark. The inflorescence looks like a yellow candle. The fruit, shaped like a straight pod, is up to 25 cm long. Its seeds are distributed by water or animals. The seed pods are nearly straight, dark brown or nearly black, about 15 cm long, and 15 mm wide. On both sides of the pods is a wing that runs the length of the pod. Pods contain 50 to 60 flattened, triangular seeds. Candle Bush is native to SW Mexico to Tropical America, cultivated and naturalized in India.