North America Non-native Plant

Colutea Arborescens Brevialata

Botanical name: Colutea arborescens brevialata

USDA symbol: COARB

Native status: Not native but doesn't reproduce and persist in the wild

Synonyms: Colutea brevialata Lange (COBR6)   

Colutea arborescens brevialata: A Lesser-Known Plant with Limited Information If you’ve stumbled across the name Colutea arborescens brevialata in your plant research, you’re not alone in wondering what exactly this plant is all about. This particular botanical designation appears to be a subspecies or variety related to the more commonly ...

Colutea arborescens brevialata: A Lesser-Known Plant with Limited Information

If you’ve stumbled across the name Colutea arborescens brevialata in your plant research, you’re not alone in wondering what exactly this plant is all about. This particular botanical designation appears to be a subspecies or variety related to the more commonly known Colutea arborescens, but finding reliable information about this specific plant can be quite the challenge.

What’s in a Name?

The botanical name Colutea arborescens brevialata tells us we’re dealing with a member of the Colutea genus, and it has a recorded synonym of Colutea brevialata Lange. However, beyond these taxonomic details, specific information about this particular plant designation is surprisingly scarce in reliable horticultural sources.

The Mystery of Limited Information

Here’s where things get a bit tricky for gardeners and plant enthusiasts. While we know this plant exists in botanical literature, many key details remain unclear:

  • Common names are not well-established
  • Native range and distribution are not clearly documented
  • Specific growing requirements are unknown
  • Garden performance and characteristics are not well-recorded

What This Means for Gardeners

If you’re considering adding Colutea arborescens brevialata to your garden, you’re essentially embarking on a bit of botanical detective work. Without clear information about its native status, invasive potential, growing requirements, or garden performance, it’s difficult to make informed planting decisions.

Given the uncertainty surrounding this plant’s characteristics and native status, we’d recommend exploring better-documented native alternatives that can provide reliable performance and known ecological benefits in your garden.

A Word of Caution

When encountering plants with limited documentation like Colutea arborescens brevialata, it’s always wise to:

  • Consult with local native plant societies
  • Check with botanical gardens or university extension services
  • Verify plant sources and their reliability
  • Consider well-documented native alternatives instead

The Bottom Line

While Colutea arborescens brevialata may be a legitimate botanical designation, the lack of readily available information about its characteristics, native status, and garden performance makes it a challenging choice for most gardeners. Until more comprehensive information becomes available, you might be better served exploring native plants with well-documented benefits and clear growing guidelines.

Sometimes the most responsible gardening choice is admitting when we don’t have enough information to make a recommendation – and this appears to be one of those cases!

Colutea Arborescens Brevialata

Classification

Group

Dicot

Kingdom

Plantae - Plants

Subkingdom

Tracheobionta - Vascular plants

Superdivision

Spermatophyta - Seed plants

Division

Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants

Subdivision
Class

Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons

Subclass

Rosidae

Order

Fabales

Family

Fabaceae Lindl. - Pea family

Genus

Colutea L. - colutea

Species

Colutea arborescens L. - bladder senna

Plant data source: USDA, NRCS 2025. The PLANTS Database. https://plants.usda.gov,. 2/25/2025. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA