Edition 1 - Cassia

Senna pendula var. glabrata, also known as "Winter Senna"

Cassia is in flower right now!
If you keep an eye out while driving around Forster (or just about anywhere else) at the moment, its bright yellow flowers make it difficult to miss. These attractive flowers are the main reason Cassia was so popular as a garden plant in past decades.

Cassia was the second most common weed found on properties during the 2013 weed inspections in Forster, and is common on both private properties and in bushland reserves.

Photo of Cassia flowering in roadside bushland in Forster.

(photo: Helen Kemp, April 2015)

Cassia identification and control video from the Pittwater Ecowarriors.

Cassia was the second most commonly found weed during the Forster private property inspections in 2013. Once established in a garden, it spreads easily into neighbouring yards and bushland.

Close up of Cassia flowers.
(photo: Terry Inkson)

Close up of Cassia seed pods. Starting out looking like green beans, they turn brown as they ripen. Each pod contains hundreds of viable seeds.
(photo: Terry Inkson)

Breynia oblongifolia is a native plant often confused with Cassia.

The easiest way to tell them apart is the alternate leaf arrangement along the stems of Breynia. Cassia leaves grow directly opposite each other along their stems.
Also look out for reddish stems on Breynia, as well as very small flowers and fruit.

To control Cassia first collect seedpods and dispose of them in red bins. Then either scrape a length of bark from the main stem and paint exposed surface with herbicide, or cut at base and paint with herbicide.
Smaller plants are easily pulled out by hand.

Download the Cassia Weed Fact Sheet here.

Cassia is one of the
"Big Bad Three"
Click to download the poster.

The Weed Bulletin emails are part of the Forster Backyard Bushcare Program, an initiative of Great Lakes Council and National Parks and Wildlife.

If you'd like to find out more, please visit the website: www.greatlakes.nsw.gov.au/backyardbushcare

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