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Maryland Senna

Senna marilandica

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in dry to moist forests, especially on greenstone and diabase barrens and rocky woodlands, thickets, woodland borders, sometimes somewhat weedy. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

61
Strong

Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
4–6 feet
Spread
3–6 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 4.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 5 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

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At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
July to August
Fruiting season
August to November

Recorded in 47 Arkansas counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 5

Forest edges and thickets

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields
Named place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock

Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

17CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR

Genus host records with ranges including AR · Cassia

  • Phoebis sennaeCloudless Sulphur
  • Abaeis mexicanaMexican Yellow, Wolf-Face Yellow
  • Abaeis nicippeSleepy Orange, Sleepy Yellow, Erratic Orange
  • Amyelois transitellaNavel Orangeworm
  • Automeris ioIo Moth
  • Choristoneura obsoletanaObsolete Leafroller
  • Colias eurythemeOrange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
  • Epargyreus clarusSilver-Spotted Skipper
  • Eumarozia malachitanaSculptured Moth
  • Gesta funeralisFunereal Duskywing
Show all 17
  • Lesmone detrahensDetracted Owlet
  • Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
  • Pyrisitia lisaLittle Yellow, Little Sulphur, Lisa Yellow
  • Selenisa sueroidesTailpipes, Pale-Edged Selenisa Moth
  • Trichordestra legitimaStriped Garden Caterpillar Moth
  • Uresiphita reversalisGenista Caterpillar, Genista Cbroom Moth
  • Zale lunataLunate Zale
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
7BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Senna

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Cassia

  • Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
  • Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

2AntsRecorded seed interactions
  • Formica schaufussi
  • Lasius niger
Beetles 1
  • Coccinella 9-notata

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Fabaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4b–10b
Soil pH
Neutral
Flower color
Yellow or white
Growth rate
Rapid
Growth habit
Single stem
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
August
Fruit ends
November

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Cassia marilandica

Conservation status

Arkansas rankSNR
Global rankG5
AR statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources