The Cassia Family @ MOSI

Butterflies are truly specialists. Each species of butterfly only has a one type of plant on which its larvae may host. For the sulphur family of butterflies, Cassias are required to feed their caterpillars. In the butterfly gardens we have several species of Cassias which are hosts to the gorgeous Sulphur butterflies of the Tampa Bay region.

Here is a look at 4 species of cassia found in the gardens that are hosts to the Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe), Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) [pictured right] and Orange-barred Giant Sulphur (Phoebis philea) butterflies that we regularly display at MOSI's BioWorks Butterfly Garden.

• Candlestick Cassia (Cassia alata) is one of our most lovely members of the Cassia family. Native to Argentina, it grows 6 to 12 feet and height and its blooms resemble fat yellow candles before the individual flowers open. Check out these blossom spikes early in the morning and you can note neat patterns of water droplets inside the unopened blooms. Candlestick cassia is a beautiful showy plant and caterpillars are easy to find on its broad leaves. Just look for the tiny holes that have been chewed there! Seedpods on this plant are easy to find because they are HUGE! This plant is easy to grow from seed, has showy flowers and is also a host plant for butterflies in the Sulphur family. So I ask, what's not to love? Ours is planted next to a bed of Firebush (Hamelia patens) and the two complement each other nicely.

• Winter Cassia (Cassia bicapsularis) is yet another of the plants to bear the irritatingly common name of "Butterfly Bush" that refers to about a dozen unrelated species. This cassia is native to the tropical areas of the Americas and is so named Winter Cassia because it puts on a showy bloom of yellow each winter. When blooming, the Winter Cassia is a mass of eye catching yellow that is sure to turn heads and generate lots of requests for cuttings and seed sharing. Also an excellent host plant for Sulphur butterflies, this shrub is fast growing but can be kept smaller with judicious pruning. If left, the shrub will develop into a ball of Cassia some 10 feet tall with a similar diameter. Caterpillars hosting on this plant will be green in color most of the year but the larvae will turn bright yellow when consuming the winter flowers.
  
  
• Sicklepod Cassia (Cassia obtusifolia) is so named for its long sickle-shaped seed pods which begin to form in late summer and mature in the fall. A true annual, Sicklepod will die back entirely each winter in the frost and will sprout from seeds around the beginning of summer. Blooming with small golden flowers, this plant is fast growing and attractive often reaching heights near to six foot. Sicklepod cassia is lovely in a garden but care should be taken to control its spread. This plant is known as a nuisance weed and tends to spread readily among food crops. Due to its fast growing nature this Cassia can outperform food and grain crops making it a serious problem for farmers. The seeds of Sicklepod Cassia can be poisonous if ingested in large quantities, especially by poultry and cattle.

• Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) is our smallest member of the Cassia family. Native to Florida, this smaller species grows 1 to 2 feet in height and favors sandy soils. Drought hearty, this tough little plant can be found growing on roadsides, upland habitats and even often disturbed areas like power line cuts and construction areas. Partridge Pea blooms with the distinctive yellow cassia flowers from July to September and although not as tall as its cousins it is still quite lovely. As a native Florida plant, Partridge Pea is well adapted to our climate and sometimes challenging gardening conditions so if you have a sandy area where nothing seems to grow well, try this little gem. The Partridge Pea is currently blooming in the Backwoods Forest Preserve and in the Olustee Longleaf Pine Flatwoods Garden in the Richard T. Bowers Historic Tree Grove.