Senna circinnata is a shrub or small tree that typically grows to a height of up to , and is sparsely covered with soft hairs pressed against the surface. Its leaves are pinnate, long on a
petiole long, with one to three pairs of egg-shaped leaflets with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide, the leaflets usually lost when the leaf matures. There is a single
glands between the lower pair of leaflets. The flowers are yellow and arranged in upper leaf axils in small groups on a
peduncle long, each flower on a
pedicel long. The petals are about long and there are ten fertile
stamens, the
anthers long. Flowering occurs in most months with a peak in winter, and the fruit is a flattened, spirally coiled
pod long and about wide. ==Taxonomy==