Senna polyphylla (Jacq.) H. S. Irwin & Barneby, Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 35: 517. 1982; Cassia polyphylla Jacq., Collect. 4: 104. 1791; C. marginata Willd., Enum. Pl. 1: 443. 1809; Peiranisia polyphylla (Jacq.) Britt. & Rose, Sci. Surv. Porto Rico and Virgin Islands 5: 373. 1924.

Small evergreen shrub or small tree, up to 5 m tall, densely branched, branches glabrous or pubescent, bark of older stem dark grey and furrowed with scaly plates. Leaves alternate or 3-5 clustered together at each node; unipinnately paripinnate, up to 5.5 cm long, 4-14 pairs of leaflets, opposite, 8-10 mm x 3-3.5 mm, apex rounded, occasionally emarginate, shortly mucronate, base rounded, oblique, margin entire; petiole ca. 8 mm long; petiolules very short, ca. 0.8 mm long; hairy; petiole and rachis with an adaxial groove, rachis slightly pubescent abaxially; a conspicuous orange conical gland on rachis between the lowest pair of leaflets. Stipules linear subulate, ca. 5 mm long. Inflorescence axillary raceme; 2 or 3 flowers at top of short peduncle; flowers zygomorphic, bisexual, pentamerous, perigynous, ca. 4 cm across, yellow; bracts caducous; pedicels pubescent. Sepals 5, free, imbricate, unequal, 2 outer small, inner 3 large, yellow. Petals 5, free, ca. 18 mm x 7-8 mm, unequal, 3 small, 2 large, obovate to oblanceolate, shortly clawed, claw ca. 1 mm long. Stamens 10, three upper (posterior) staminodes and 7 fertile stamens, fertile anthers oblong and more or less arched, dehiscent by apical pores; 3 lower (anterior) anthers large, abruptly narrowed at apex into long beak; 4 anthers of central (intermediate) stamens truncated at apex or with short beak. Ovary stipitate, curved, pubescent, unilocular with many ovules; style slender; stigma punctiform. Legumes stipitate, ca. 10 cm long, slightly contorted, flattened between seeds, strap-shaped, dark brown at maturity, pubescent, 14-15 seeds. Seeds obovate or rounded, flattened, dark brown.

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