OCTOBER
Collection “The Flower of the Month”
Easter Cassia Senna pendula var. glabrata
Dr Keith Bensusan
Director
Gibraltar Botanic Gardens, The Alameda.
The pea family (Fabaceae) includes many species of
plant that flower spectacularly. They also constitute
an important food source for humans: in addition to
peas themselves, all beans and pulses belong to this
family.
In Europe and the Mediterranean, the family is
diverse but consists mainly of herbs and smaller
shrubs. However, there are many species that grow
into trees and large shrubs in the tropics. The di-
versity in the family includes trees such as Mimo-
sas and Acacias as well as smaller shrubs such as
Brooms, down to tiny, ground-hugging herbs that,
although barely noticeable, often have intricate and
very beautiful flowers that are adapted for pollina-
tion mainly by a diversity of bee species and, in the
tropics, birds.
The Easter Cassia Senna pendula var. glabrata is
a tall shrub that flowers beautifully at the Alameda
during the autumn, usually beginning towards the
end of October. This member of the pea family is
native to Brazil and Paraguay. It is just one of many
beautiful members of the pea family at the Gibraltar
Botanic Gardens. Most of the other species flower
during the spring.
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OTWO 03 / OCTOBER 2019
OTWO 03 / OCTOBER 2019
La familia de leguminosas (Fabaceae) comprende
un gran número de especies que florecen de forma
espectacular. Como fuente de alimento cuentan con
la familia de guisantes, frijoles y legumbres, funda-
mentales para la alimentación humana.
En Europa y el Mediterráneo, la familia es nu-
merosa y principalmente se compone de arbustos y
hierbas. Mientras, en los trópicos, hay muchas es-
pecies que crecen en árboles y arbustos grandes. La
variedad incluye árboles como las Mimosas y Aca-
cias, y arbustos más pequeños desde la Escoba Ru-
bia, hasta pequeñas hierbas a menudo tienen flores
enmarañadas y muy hermosas, cuya polinización es
muy diversa por las visitas de abejas y, en los trópi-
cos, de aves.
La Pascua Cassia (Senna pendula var. glabrata),
es un arbusto alto que florece en los paseos duran-
te el otoño, generalmente a finales de octubre. Este
arbusto, es originario de Brasil y Paraguay. Es solo
uno de los hermosos especímenes que encontramos
en los Jardines Botánicos de Gibraltar. El resto de
variedades, suele florecer en primavera.
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