American Senna - Ask Extension
Which one is preferred to plant in a home garden in PG, Maryland:
American Senna/Wild Senna (senna hebecarpe) or Maryland Senna (cassia marilandica)
Knowledgebase
American Senna #926023
Asked March 14, 2026, 12:49 PM EDT
Which one is preferred to plant in a home garden in PG, Maryland:
American Senna/Wild Senna (senna hebecarpe) or Maryland Senna (cassia marilandica)
Prince George's County Maryland
Expert Response
According to Maryland Biodiversity Project observational data, Senna hebecarpa is widespread in Maryland, while Cassia/Senna marilandica is on the state watch list as a rare species. Both occur in P.G. County, but S. hebecarpa is the species more practical to plant in this case. (In general, state-rare species should not be grown in cultivation unless the gardener can guarantee that the ecotype (genetic source) of the species being planted is from a very local population, which is very unlikely for rare species since seed collection would be difficult or may not be legal to avoid affecting the population's reproductive potential.)
Miri
Miri
