Wildflower Wednesday: Senna lindheimeriana

It's Wildflower Wednesday and I'm joining Gail and Clay and Limestone for a closer look at Senna lindheimeriana.

The bright yellow blooms of Lindheimer Senna appear just as summer turns to fall.

When we moved into our San Antonio home in the summer of 2008 I began to notice the velvet-leaved plants growing in the field just over the property line.  Although I was not as interested in Texas native plants then as I am now I knew they weren't weeds and should be left to bloom.  I was rewarded with bright yellow blooms later that same summer and I was intrigued enough to research its identity.  It was the beginning of my interest in bringing locally native plants into the garden.

This is the first year Lindheimer's Senna has appeared voluntarily in the circle garden and I couldn't be more pleased that this drought tolerant, deer resistant native plant has decided to grow in the garden.  It grows in full sun without supplemental water and I have read that it also does well in part shade.  Because it is a deciduous perennial I know it will continue to grow here and possibly seed out in other spots around the garden.  Tina at My Gardener Says..wrote a post recently about growing this plant in her garden.

Due to its slight odor and velvety leaves the deer seem to ignore Lindheimer's Senna which is a good thing since it is poisonous to cattle and might be a problem for deer as well.  The leaves can be brewed into a strong laxative tea.  The flowers are favored by bumble bees, the seeds are a food source for birds, and the plant is a larval host for the sulphur butterfly which I observe in abundance in my garden.

There were quite a few more plants in previous years and I think they were set back by lack of rains in the spring.  According to the NPIN, Lindheimer's Senna thrives in our dry limestone based soils and is predominately native to Central Texas though it grows in the wild all the way to southeastern Arizona.  These bright yellow flowers are a welcomed sight in the fall garden.  It will grow up to six feet tall though most of these are three feet.

Unlike many native flowering plants it can stand alone or in groups and the silvery soft leaves look great in the garden even without the flowers.

Visit the comments section of Clay and Limestone for more information on growing native plants in your garden.