Crinkle leaf cassia (Senna artemisioides subsp. helmsii) in the Western Australian rangelands

Page last updated: Tuesday, 6 July 2021 - 9:55am

Please note: This content may be out of date and is currently under review.

Crinkle leaf cassia (Senna artemisioides subsp. helmsii) is one of many plant species found in the Western Australian rangelands. This page provides a summary of the plant's value for pastoralism. Pastoral lessees and station managers can use this information to assess pasture condition and trend.

FloraBase features photographs of this plant.

Indicator value

Crinkle leaf cassia is undesirable and an increaser species under heavy grazing. That is, when crinkle leaf cassia is dominant in the pasture and palatable species are hard to find, pasture condition is poor.

Forage value

Crinkle leaf cassia is unpalatable to livestock. 

Habitat

Various soils.

General description

Crinkle leaf cassia is an open grey shrub that can grow to about 1.2m, occasionally reaching 2m. The upper branches and compound leaves are covered with short grey hairs. The leaves are 3–4cm long and have up to 5 pairs of blunt-ended leaflets with a distinctive crinkled edge. The flowers are bright yellow, growing in bunches of up to 10 on the new stems. The pods are flat and oblong and up to 6cm long.

Contact information

Matthew Fletcher
+61 (0)8 9166 4019
Kath Ryan
+61 (0)8 9166 4015