Senna italica (Cassia italica)Italian Senna

The Senna italica, commonly known as the Italian Senna and listed as Cassia italica in Gulf tender documents, is a low, spreading perennial subshrub of the deserts of Africa, Arabia and India. It carries blue-green pinnate leaves on trailing stems, with upright racemes of bright yellow flowers followed by flat curved pods.

It grows low and wide rather than tall, which makes it useful as native ground cover on open sand and gravel. It is used in desert restoration, verge planting and low native mass where a flowering ground layer is wanted without irrigation.

Specifications

• Height0.3 to 0.6 metres
• Width1 to 1.5 metres, spreading along the ground
• Native toNorth and east Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent
• FoliageBlue-green pinnate leaves with rounded leaflets, held on low trailing stems; semi-deciduous in drought
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilPrefers sandy and gravelly soils with free drainage; tolerates poor and alkaline ground
• LightFull sun
• WaterVery low; strongly drought-tolerant and adapted to survive on desert rainfall
• ClimateThrives in hot arid and semi-arid regions across the Sahara and Arabia

Additional Features

• FlowersUpright racemes of bright yellow flowers held clear of the foliage, mainly after rain
• UsesDesert restoration and native ground layer, road verge planting, low mass planting on open sand and gravel
• SpacingPlant 0.8 to 1 metre apart for continuous low cover
• Low MaintenanceRequires no routine care; cut back only to tidy after a heavy flowering season
• Pest ResistanceFree of significant pest and disease problems in dry climates
• Drought ToleranceVery high, dying back in extreme drought and reshooting after rain
• Erosion ControlThe low spreading habit stabilises loose sand and gravel surfaces
• Wildlife AttractionFlowers are worked by bees and the pods are taken by seed-feeding birds

The Italian Senna is a native flowering ground layer for open desert ground where irrigation is not on offer.