Family: Fabaceae
High Risk Traits:
- Broad climate suitability and environmental versatility
- Grows and spreads in tropical climates
- Naturalized in the Caribbean and Venezuela (no evidence in the Hawaiian Islands)
- A weed of pastures, disturbed areas, waterways, and wastelands (and reported to displace native species in these habitats)
- Other Senna species are invasive
- Potentially allelopathic
- Conflicting reports on unpalatability to browsing animals
- May possess toxic properties
- Tolerates many soil types (unlikely to be substrate limited)
- Reproduces by seeds
- Fast growth rate, and reaches maturity in <1 year
- Seeds dispersed internally by animals, water and intentionally by people
- Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire
Low Risk Traits:
- Unarmed (no spines, thorns, or burrs)
- Thrives in disturbed, high light environments (dense shade my limit spread)
- Not reported to spread vegetatively