Senna spectabilis:
Kerala has carried out India’s first science-based, community-driven eradication of Senna spectabilis which could restore south India’s forests.
- Senna spectabilis is an invasive species native to tropical America.
- Common names: Popcorn Bush Cedar, Archibald’s Cassia, Calceolaria Cassia, Golden Shower, Scented Shower, Fetid Cassia.
- It forms dense, sterile thickets, choking out native plants, altering soil chemistry and depriving herbivores of food.
- It is a tree with a very dense, spreading crown; it can grow 7 – 18 metres tall.
- It is often planted for fuelwood, as an ornamental, and as a shade tree in agroforestry situations.
- It resembles Kerala’s state flower Cassia fistula, known locally as
- It is classified as Least Concern under the IUCN Red List.
- It has very aggressive growth rate and degrade lands in forest ecosystems which make it challenging to control its spread.
- Invasive Species is an organism that causes ecological or economic harm in a new environment where it is not native.
- These can be introduced to a new area via the ballast water of oceangoing ships, releases of aquaculture species, aquarium specimens, and other means.
