Popcorn Bush Cedar
Senna spectabilis
Also known as Archibald's Cassia, Calceolaria Cassia, Golden Shower, Scented Shower, Fetid Cassia
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Popcorn Bush Cedar
Identify Popcorn Bush Cedar by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a tree habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Large showy flower panicles.
- Confirm leaf type: Pinnately compound (leaflets in rows along a stalk).
- Confirm flower colour: Yellow.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Caesalpiniaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Popcorn Bush Cedar.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Senna spectabilis
- Genus
- Senna
- Family
- Caesalpiniaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Grown as ornamental tree
- Habitat type
- Cultivated
- Native to
- Tropical Southeast Asia
- Distribution
- Planted
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf type
- Pinnately compound (leaflets in rows along a stalk)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Popcorn Bush Cedar itself; the rest are typical of the Caesalpiniaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Yellowrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Raceme
- Fruit
- Legume
Characters marked “recorded” are for Popcorn Bush Cedar itself; the rest are typical of the Caesalpiniaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Malayalam
- സെന്ന സ്പെക്ടബിലിസ്
About Popcorn Bush Cedar
Popcorn Bush Cedar (Senna spectabilis) is a tree in the Caesalpiniaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and 4 other states. It is grown as ornamental tree. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Uses
In practice it is long used in traditional medicine, cut for timber and furniture and planted as an ornamental. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice.
Caesalpiniaceae
Senna family
Popcorn Bush Cedar belongs to the Caesalpiniaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
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