[Illustration: Cassia lindheimeriana
Cassia bauhinoides]
Common names: DESERT-SENNA, RATTLEWEED
Arizona desert: (_Cassia bauhinoides_). Yellow. May-August.
California desert: (_Cassia armata_). Yellow. April-May.
Texas desert: (_Cassia lindheimeriana_). Golden. June-September.
Pea family. Size: Low, branching shrub up to 3 feet.
Members of this large genus are chiefly tropical, the majority having
golden to bronze flowers and brown, woody seed pods. They are quite
common along desert roadsides, and a few species are cultivated as
ornamentals.
In some localities, following moist winters, Desert-senna bursts into a
riot of color in April and May adding a golden glory to the spring
floral display.
Representatives of the several desert species occur at elevations
between 2,000 and 5,000 feet from Texas westward to southern California
and south into Mexico.