Sesbania punicea
| Sesbania punicea | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Genus: | Sesbania |
| Species: | Sesbania punicea |
| Binomial name | |
|
Sesbania punicea |
|
Sesbania punicea (Spanish gold, rattlebox, or scarlet sesban) is an ornamental shrub that produces reddish-orange flowers, has deciduous leaves, and grows to 15 feet high. This plant has a high demand for water, and thrives in swamps or high-moisture areas. It also requires a mildly acidic soil to grow, ranging between 6.1 and 6.5 pH.
This species is native to Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It has spread to parts of Africa, other parts of South America, and many coastal southern United States. Due to its high demand for water, this species is often found at marshy shorelines. It also forms dense thickets and thrives in disturbed areas.
The genus Sesbania is within the larger family Fabaceae. The Fabaceae are divided into three subfamilies:
The genus Sesbania falls under the subfamily Faboidea, which has the greatest amount of diversity within the Fabaceae family. The subfamilies Mimosoideae and Faboidea are largely monophyletic, whereas the Caesalphinioideae family is considered paraphyletic.
The flowers begin to appear in the late spring and persist until the autumn. In the United States, the blooming period for this species is between June and September, whereas in South Africa it is between November and January.
When the carpellous structures dry out, they are distributed close to the base of the parent plant when found inland. Commonly, these plants are found near waterways due to the effective seed dispersal technique by moving water The seeds of this plant have impermeable seed coats, which allow the survival of the seeds when dispersed by waterways This impermeable quality of the seed coat was found to be caused by callose. These seeds require scarification before they are able to germinate, and germinated seedlings are commonly found along moist rivers and smaller tributaries. Seed dispersal is not performed by animals due to the plants' toxic characteristics. This species has also been commonly found near roadsides, hypothetically due to seeds being present in imported soil used for the construction of roads. This species is known to be shade-tolerant, allowing seedling growth under shady conditions. Once seedlings have grown for three months, they can potentially produce flowers and seeds, although flowering most commonly occurs once the seedlings become two years of age. This plant is capable of surviving freezing conditions, but not for prolonged periods of time .
This shrub has deciduous leaves that are alternate and compound with between five and 20 pairs of elliptical leaflets on a single stalk. The leaf margins are commonly entire, with little or no serration. Each leaflet is oblong in shape and ends in a pointy tip . The leaves contain stipules that are usually inconspicuous. These plants produce both fruits and flowers in a drooping fashion at the tips of these stalks. The branches of this shrub are rather thin, and are originally green, but turn a darker red brown when they mature. The bark varies from a gray brown to a red brown with obvious horizontal lenticels.
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Wikipedia