Australian Senna

Sun or partial shade. Evergreen, with soft needle-like or skeleton-leaf foliage. It prefers dry, well-drained sites. Small, buttercup-yellow flowers cover plants from winter to spring, especially in sun, but even under live oaks. Eventually plants become somewhat twiggy. Don’t overwater. A showy Australian native, Desert cassia is a fairly recent introduction to local horticulture. It retains its leaves down to at least 25 degrees in most winters (it’s survived 18 degrees at the Botanical Garden in San Antonio). Several types are seen in cultivation, including a version with pale, blunt-tipped silver leaves.