Cassia bicapsularis

Winter Cassia (Cassia bicapsularis) is blooming like mad here at the MOSI gardens. This species 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. Winter Cassia is host to the Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe), Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) and Orange-barred Giant Sulphur (Phoebis philea) which are all seasonally on display at MOSI.

Cassias are vigorous plants that grow rapidly and can become quite unruly, so expect a great deal of pruning if you want to keep this shrub anywhere near dainty. This particular species of cassia is native to South America, but there are plenty of Florida native species around if you prefer gardening with local plants.

This variety of cassia makes an excellent host plant since its very quick growth helps it to recover rapidly from any damage feeding caterpillars may cause. Even with the currently cold temperatures, the cassia is still going strong.