Colutea

 include:
 C arborescens bladder senna
 C media
 C orientalis

Colutea is a genus of tender and hardy deciduous flowering shrubs of which only one, Colutea arborescens is in general cultivation in the UK. They are grown mostly for their attractive seed pods.

Colutea arborescens known as Bladder Senna is indiginous to the Mediterranean. It has a height and spread of eight feet or more. The leaves are pinnate and light green. From June to September yellow pea shaped flowers are produced in racemes. These are followed by the attractive inflated seed pods which change from pale green to red or copper in colour. Other species are Colutea media which has coppery flowers and Colutea orientalis with grey leaves and coppery flowers.

Colutea arborescens will grow in poor sandy soils as well as heavy or loamy soils and is easy to propagate from seed. It is generally pest resistant, though garden snails will climb up the plant in wet weather in order to eat the leaves. It has become naturalised in the wild in the UK.

Reference

The Reader's Digest Encyclopaedia of Garden Plants and Flowers. The Reader's Digest Association Limited, London 1971.
The Tree and Shrub Expert. Hessayon D G, pbi publications 1983.