| Author | Content |
Riverland
Northeast, LA
(Zone 8a)
July 23, 2008
11:28 PM Post #5310501
| I have grown several different cassias but I don't know what this is. The seed was square to slightly oblong. It is only about 24 inches tall and is already putting the bean looking pods on. You can see them in the larger picture. Close up is of the individual blooms. It is certainly not as showy as Christmas, Privet, or Candlestick senna. If you can help me thanks. Cindy 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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TulsaRose
Tulsa, OK
(Zone 7a)
July 24, 2008
5:27 AM Post #5311018
| Cindy, maybe it's Cassia Tora???
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
Rosie
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Riverland
Northeast, LA
(Zone 8a)
July 24, 2008
7:57 AM Post #5311319
| Thank you Rosie that looks like it. I am headed out to pull it up since I don't have any butterflies anyway this year. |
Lily_love
Central, AL
(Zone 7b)
July 24, 2008
10:23 AM Post #5311842
| Cindy, I'm glad you've asked the question. I was wondering if cassia alata would not come up truth to its parent.
Last year, a fellow Dger was kind enough to share some cassia alata seeds, I'm growing them out and enjoying the sulphers b.f. in the garden.
One of the interesting thing that I've observed. My Cassia 'bicaupsularis' and the 'alata' seeds both turned out axactly the same? Anyone's take on this observation.
Here is my C. alata's seedling: I've seen some flowers, they're now faded, but there is lacks of 'candlestick' characteristic, but singly blooms yellow flower like the one is in your question.
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
July 24, 2008
10:29 AM Post #5311870
| There was either a wrong label on your seeds or the C. alata never came up and all you got was bicapsularis. If you look in PF you'll see that your leaves don't match C. alata either [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com] C. alata would come true from seed--you might see some variation in yellow color but the flowers and leaves would have the same shape/habit. |
Riverland
Northeast, LA
(Zone 8a)
July 24, 2008
2:17 PM Post #5312983
| Thank you ecrane the leaves are very different. I had never grown this one until someone gave me the seed. I did not give any of these seedlings away because I didn't know what they were. I am growing the privet and the chain tree cassias that i did share with others but sadly no candlesticks.
Kim I pulled those up because the bloom is insignificant compared to other cassia. Lat year my candlestick was gorgeous. |
Lily_love
Central, AL
(Zone 7b)
July 24, 2008
2:22 PM Post #5313019
| I've read from some previous posts. Some of the cassias that spontanously spread to the wild pasture were toxic to cows, thus a threat to farmers. Anyway, I'll keep an eye on these for awhile to see their development. So far, they've flowered but not seeds formation...I'll keep an eye on them.
editted to add, the person that shared the seeds has shown, demonstrated with pictures of her own C. alata's in her garden which was hostplant for her many sulpher's caterpillars. My C. 'capsularis' didn't make seed consistently here in my zone, last winter it bloomed very late and first frost took the blooms out before it formed any seeds. It's indeed a deciduous perennial here for me.
This message was edited Jul 24, 2008 4:15 PM |
Riverland
Northeast, LA
(Zone 8a)
July 24, 2008
4:36 PM Post #5313731
| I certainly don't need anything that would hurt my cows. |
Metrosideros
Keaau, HI
July 24, 2008
7:59 PM Post #5314761
| Close-ups of the mature seed-pods would help with ID. Most Senna and Cassia species (often synonymous) are toxic to cattle and horses in large amounts. If there are only a few plants in your field and they just nibble on them, and eat mostly grasses, there should be nothing to worry about. However, if these plants are a major part of their diet, you need to stop that immediately! |
buyabutterfly
Brooker, FL
August 26, 2008
9:59 PM Post #5472418
| This cassia looks like it is Cassia obtusifolia. We pulled it out of the peanut fields when we were growing up. Daddy was a peanut farmer in Florida and thousands of these plants grew among peanut plants. They are host plants for several sulphur butterflies! |
buyabutterfly
Brooker, FL
August 26, 2008
10:04 PM Post #5472444
| PS - it is called 'sickle pod cassia' because of the seed pods. We called it 'coffee weed' but in the last few years we discovered that there are other cassias also called 'coffee weed'. The seed will live for decades underground. When soil is turned or washed and the seed is close to the surface, it will sprout and grow.
In a cultivated garden, there are many better cassias to grow. I'll treasure the smell of 'coffee weed' till the day I die but I don't grow it in my cultivated garden. It does grow wild on our land though!
~Edith |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
August 26, 2008
10:49 PM Post #5472646
| C. obtusifolia is a synonym for C. tora which TulsaRose suggested earlier. |
buyabutterfly
Brooker, FL
August 26, 2008
11:00 PM Post #5472693
| Bingo! I'd not heard of it as C. tora. I should have followed the link.
~Edith |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
August 26, 2008
11:03 PM Post #5472705
| I think C. obtusifolia is the currently accepted name, could be wrong though! |
Floridian
Lutz, FL
(Zone 9b)
 August 27, 2008
6:42 AM Post #5473365
| Senna obtusifolia aka Sicklepod or Coffeeweed |
