FNPS Plant Database

Senna mexicana var. chapmanii

Chapman's sensitive plant, Bahama senna

PHOTOS COMING SOON!

Nomenclature

Common Name:

Chapman's sensitive plant, Bahama senna

Synonym(s):

Cassia chapmanii

Genus species:

Senna mexicana var. chapmanii

Family:

Fabaceae (Leguminosae)

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

2-4 ft tall by 3-6 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

yellow

Fruit Color:

brown

Phenology:

Evergreen but goes semi-dormant in drought or cold. Blooms all year in south Florida. Typically lives 3-5 years.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen shrub. Can be a border plant or planted in a mass. 

Considerations:

Availability:

Native Nurseries, Seed

Propagation:

Seed.

Light:

Full Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Usually moist, occasional inundation ---to--- Short very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Moderate. Tolerant of salty wind and may get some salt spray.

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Lime Rock

Soil pH:

Calcareous (high pH)

Suitable to Grow In:

10A,10B,11

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies, Caterpillars

Larval host plant for cloudless sulphur ( Phoebis sennae ), sleepy orange ( Eurema nicippi ) and the introduced orange-barred sulphur ( Phoebis philea ) butterflies.





A gland at the base of the leaves attracts ants that attack the butterfly caterpillars (IRC)





Sennas attract butterflies, solitary bees including sweat bees and bumble bees, as pollinators.

Native Habitats:

Pine rocklands, rocky hammocks, dunes. Typically in sunny areas.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

Listed as Threatened in Florida by the FDACS.

Citations:

Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell.  1999.  Native Florida Plants.  Gulf Publishing Company.  Houston, TX.



Hammer, Roger. 2015.  Attracting hummingbirds and butterflies in tropical Florida.  University Presses of Florida.



Institute for Regional Conservation.  2021.  https://www.regionalconservation.org/beta/nfyn/plantdetail.asp?tx=Sennmexichap



Minno, Marc and Maria Minno.  1999.  Florida butterfly gardening.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville.



Osorio, Rufino. 2001. A gardener's guide to Florida's native Plants.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Tras, Pamela.  2001.  Gardening for Florida's butterflies.  Great Outdoors Publishing, St. Petersburg, FL.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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