''Cassia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of flowering plants in the

legume Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

family,

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

, and the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Caesalpinioideae Caesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. Its name is formed from the generic name '' Caesalpinia''. It is known also as the peacock flower subfamily. The Caesalpinioideae a ...

. Species are known commonly as cassias. The genus includes 37 species and has a

pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''. ''Neotropical' ...

distribution.''Cassia'' L.
''

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

''. Retrieved 14 August 2023. Species of the genera '' Senna'' and '' Chamaecrista'' were previously included in ''Cassia''. ''Cassia'' now generally includes the largest species of the legume subtribe Cassiinae, usually mid-sized to tall

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s. Cassia is also the English common name of some unrelated species in the genus ''

Cinnamomum ''Cinnamomum'' is a genus of evergreen aromatic trees and shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The species of ''Cinnamomum'' have aromatic oils in their leaves and bark. The genus contains approximately 234 species, distributed in ...

'' of the family

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant Family (biology), family that includes the bay laurel, true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genus (biology), genera worldwide. They are dicotyled ...

Ecology

''Cassia'' species occur in a range of

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

s. Some can be utilized widely as

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

s. They have been used in

reforestation Reforestation is the practice of restoring previously existing forests and woodlands that have been destroyed or damaged. The prior forest destruction might have happened through deforestation, clearcutting or wildfires. Three important purpose ...

projects, and species from

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

s can be used to prevent

desertification Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of Soil fertility, fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities. The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This i ...

. ''Cassia'' species are used as food plants by the

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s of many

lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

n taxa. For example, the skipper ''

Astraptes fulgerator ''Telegonus fulgerator'', the two-barred flasher, is a species of spread-wing skipper butterfly in the family Hesperiidae which may constitute a possible cryptic species complex. It ranges all over the Americas, from the southern United States ...

'' and the pierids ''

Catopsilia pomona ''Catopsilia pomona'', the common emigrant or lemon emigrant, is a medium-sized Pieridae, pierid butterfly found in Asia and parts of Australia. The species gets its name from its habit of Lepidoptera migration, migration. Some early authors con ...

'' and '' C. pyranthe'' are all seen on ''

Cassia fistula ''Cassia fistula'', also known as golden shower, purging cassia, Indian laburnum, kani konna, or pudding-pipe tree,U. S. Department of Agriculture, William Saunders; Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agric ...

''. The latter utilizes several other cassias, as well. The

plant pathogen Plant diseases are diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, viroids, virus-like orga ...

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

es cassia yellow blotch bromovirus and cassia yellow spot potyvirus were first described from ''Cassia''.

Uses

Because the name ''Cassia'' is not precise, it is sometimes difficult to know what is meant by references to plants known as "cassias". Cassia gum, for example, is made from '' Senna obtusifolia'', a species formerly included in genus ''Cassia''. Genera ''Cassia'' and ''Senna'' are both known in systems of

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

. ''

'', for example, is used in Ayurvedic medicine. There exists some culinary use for cassias. The fruit of some species is edible. In Central America, its pods are stewed into a molasses-like syrup, taken as a sweetener and for its nutritional and medicinal effects. Some have toxins in their seeds, however.

Systematics and taxonomy

There are hundreds of ''Cassia''

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

, but it is unclear just how many. One estimate stands at 692. The genus was a

wastebasket taxon Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined by e ...

for a long time, used to classify plants that did not fit well anywhere else. Over 1000 species have belonged to ''Cassia'' over the years. Many taxa have since been transferred to more appropriate genera, such as ''Senna''. ''

'' accepts 37 species.

Species

''Cassia'' comprises the following species: * '' Cassia abbreviata'' Oliv. ** subsp. ''abbreviata'' Oliv. ** subsp. ''beareana'' (Holmes) Brenan ** subsp. ''kassneri'' (Baker f.) Brenan * '' Cassia afrofistula'' Brenan — Kenyan shower cassia * '' Cassia angolensis'' Welw. ex Hiern * '' Cassia arereh'' Delile * '' Cassia artensis'' Beauvis. * '' Cassia aubrevillei'' Pellegr. * '' Cassia bakeriana'' Craib—pink cassia, wishing-tree * '' Cassia brewsteri'' (F.Muell.) F.Muell. ex

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

— Brewster's cassia, cigar cassia * '' Cassia burttii'' Baker f. * '' Cassia cowanii'' H.S.Irwin & Barneby ** var. ''cowanii'' H.S.Irwin & Barneby ** var. ''guianensis'' (Sandwith) H.S.Irwin & Barneby ** var. ''peruviana'' (J.F.Macbr.) H.S.Irwin & Barneb * '' Cassia eremophila'' Vogel—desert cassia * ''

Cassia fastuosa Cassia typically refers to cassia bark, the spice made from the bark of East Asian evergreen trees. Cassia may also refer to: Plants Cinnamon trees * ''Cinnamomum cassia'' (, ''ròuguì''), the cassia or Chinese cinnamon, found in southern China ...

'' Willd. ex Vogel ** var. ''calva'' H.S.Irwin & Barneby ** var. ''fastuosa'' * '' Cassia ferruginea'' ( Schrad.) DC. ** var. ''ferruginea'' ** var. ''vellozoana'' H.S.Irwin & Barneby * '' Cassia fikifiki'' * ''

'' L. — golden shower, Indian-laburnum, purging cassia * ''

Cassia grandis ''Cassia grandis'', one of several species called pink shower tree, and known as carao in Spanish language, Spanish, is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the neotropics, that grows up to . The species is distributed from southe ...

'' L.f. — pink shower cassia * '' Cassia hintonii'' Sandwith * '' Cassia hippophallus'' Capuron * '' Cassia javanica'' L.—apple-blossom cassia, Palawan cherry ** subsp. ''bartonii'' F.M.Bailey ** subsp. ''javanica'' L. *** var. ''javanica'' L. *** var. ''microcalyx'' Irwin & Barneby ** subsp. ''nodosa'' (Buch.-Ham. ex Roxb.) K.Larsen & S.S.Larsen ** subsp. ''pubiflora'' (Merr.) K.Larsen * '' Cassia johannae'' Vatke * '' Cassia lancangensis'' Y.Y. Qian * ''

Cassia leiandra ''Cassia leiandra'', the mari-mari, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,

'' Benth. * '' Cassia leptophylla'' Vogel—gold medallion tree * '' Cassia mannii'' Oliv. * '' Cassia marksiana'' (F.M.Bailey) Domin * '' Cassia midas'' H.S.Irwin & Barneby * '' Cassia moschata'' Kunth * '' Cassia mystacicarpa'' * ''

Cassia psilocarpa Cassia typically refers to cassia bark, the spice made from the bark of East Asian evergreen trees. Cassia may also refer to: Plants Cinnamon trees * ''Cinnamomum cassia'' (, ''ròuguì''), the cassia or Chinese cinnamon, found in southern China ...

'' Welw. * '' Cassia queenslandica'' C.T.White * '' Cassia × regia'' Standl. * '' Cassia roxburghii'' DC.—Roxburgh's cassia * '' Cassia rubriflora'' Ducke * '' Cassia sieberiana'' DC. * '' Cassia spruceana'' Benth. * '' Cassia swartzioides'' Ducke ** var. ''scarlatina'' (Ducke) H.S.Irwin & Barneby ** var. ''swartzioides'' * '' Cassia thyrsoidea'' Brenan * '' Cassia tomentella'' (Benth.) Domin

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q162882 Fabaceae genera Pantropical flora

Ecology

Uses

Systematics and taxonomy

Species

See also

References