Common Name: Arsenic bush.
Arsenic bush is an evergreen shrub native to Central America and grows to around 2 meters in height. The entire plant has a glabrous smooth waxy appearance. The leafs are pinnate, with 4-5 leaflets in each which are egg shaped. There is a gland between the leaflets except for the last leaflet pair. The inflorescence is in the form of short raceme mostly axillary. The flowers are bright yellow in color, waxy on feel with 5 petals. The flower consists of both stamens and staminodes. The fruit is in the form of a long smooth cylindrical pod containing several seeds. Commonly seen around rural road sides in Nilgiris beyond 1700 msl. The plant poisonous and should not be consumed. Senna genus consists of more than 350 species they generally have alternate paripinnate leaf, flowers are yellow in color and the fruit is in the form of a pod. Flowers are not pea-shaped and are rather more open flowers. The plant looks attractive when in full bloom. The plant is an exotic in Nilgiris, probably with invasive tendency.
