Senna mexicana (Jacq.) Irwin & Barneby var. chapmanii (Isely) Irwin & Barneby
Chapman’s wild sensitive plant, Bahama cassia, Chapman’s senna
Chapman’s wild sensitive plant is native to Miami-Dade County Florida, and the Florida Keys.
Plants: Plants reach 3–9′ (91–274 cm) in height, producing rounded clumps, with multiple stems. Bark is smooth and dark brown.
Leaves: Leaves are even pinnate and alternate. Leaflets are linear to elliptic, and less than 2″ (5 cm) long. A gland at the base of each leaflet attracts ants that attack marauding caterpillars, as described in an article in The Florida Entomologist.
Flowers: Flowers are yellow, ½–1″ (1.3–2.5 cm) around, with five petals and two prominent stamens.
Fruits: Shaped like beans, 3–6″ (7.6–15 cm) long and about ¼″ (6.3 mm) in diameter. They turn brown and persist in the winter.
Habitats: In pinelands, hammocks, and dunes, in calcarous, sandy, or loamy soils. It is considered a threatened species, due to its limited range.
Online References:
Cassia chapmanii Isely
4/14/2015 · Pinelands, Everglades National Park, Florida · ≈ 8 × 11″ (21 × 27 cm) 
4/12/2015 · Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Florida · ≈ 6 × 6″ (16 × 14 cm) 
4/12/2015 · Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Florida · ≈ 8 × 7″ (19 × 16 cm) 
4/14/2015 · Pinelands, Everglades National Park, Florida · ≈ 7 × 9″ (18 × 22 cm) 
4/14/2015 · Pinelands, Everglades National Park, Florida · ≈ 6 × 4″ (14 × 10 cm) 
4/12/2015 · Shark Valley, Everglades National Park, Florida · ≈ 5 × 5″ (13 × 13 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Fabales | Legumes (pea and bean families) |
| Family | Fabaceae | Legume family (peas and beans) |
| Genus | Senna | From the Arabic name Sana |
| Species | mexicana | Of or from Mexico |
| var. | chapmanii | For Alvan Wentworth Chapman (1809–99), American physician and pioneering botanist in the study of flora of the American Southeast |
Senna mexicana var. chapmanii description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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