Senna didymobotrya

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Senna didymobotrya
Starr 030201-0001 Senna didymobotrya.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Genus: Senna
Species:
S. didymobotrya
Binomial name
Senna didymobotrya
(Fresen.) Irwin & Barneby
Synonyms

Cassia didymobotrya

Senna didymobotrya is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names African senna, [1] popcorn senna, candelabra tree, and peanut butter cassia. It is native to Africa, where it can be found across the continent in several types of habitats.

Contents

It has been introduced to many other parts of the world for use as an ornamental plant, a cover crop, and a leguminous green manure. [2] In some places it is now naturalized in the wild, for example, in parts of Indonesia, Australia, Mexico, and the United States in California, Florida, and Hawaii.

Description

African senna is a hairy, aromatic shrub usually growing up to about five meters tall but known to reach nine meters in optimal growing conditions. The leaves of the plant are up to half a meter long and are made up of many pairs of elongated oval leaflets each up to 6.5 centimeters long.

The African senna plant has a strong, distinct scent that has been variously described as being reminiscent of mice, wet dog, peanut butter, and burnt popcorn. [3]

The plant flowers plentifully in racemes of bright yellow flowers, with some flowers also occurring in leaf axils. The flower raceme has open flowers on the lower part with unopened buds at the tip covered in stark brownish green or black bracts. The flower has five concave petals each 1.5 to nearly 3 centimeters long. The flower has ten stamens, usually seven fertile ones and three sterile staminodes. Some of the stamens have large anthers measuring a centimeter long.

The fruits of the African senna plant are flat brown legume pods up to 12 centimeters long, each containing as many as 16 bean-like seeds that are themselves up to a centimeter long each.

The plant is poisonous. [4]

Taxonomy and phylogenetics

The African senna plant is one of 249 species in the genus Senna of the legume family. [5] According to Open Tree of Life, it's closest relative is Senna italica which is also native to Africa as well as parts of India. [6] [7]

S. martiana

S. reticulata

S. notabilis

S. didymobotrya

S. italica

S. paradictyon

S. magnifolia

S. pleurocarpa

S. nicaraguensis

S. alata

S. venusta

Uses

In Kenya, some cultures, particularly Kalenjins, use the plant to prepare a special type of sour milk (mursik) which is used mainly during festivities. A sizeable tree is cut and its branches pruned. The bark is mostly removed, then dried. Once the bark is dry, and the gourds of the plant have been cleaned and dried, the senna bark is put in a fire, and removed when charred. The process emits fragrant smoke. The charred bark is used to coat the gourd, which is subsequently used for the storage of fermented or fresh milk. [8]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mursik</span>

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<i>Senna armata</i> Species of legume

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<i>Senna multiglandulosa</i> Species of legume

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<i>Sphaerophysa salsula</i> Species of legume

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<i>Pycnanthus angolensis</i> Species of tree

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<i>Veronica anagallis-aquatica</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae

Veronica anagallis-aquatica is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae known by the common names water speedwell, blue water-speedwell,brook pimpernel, and sessile water-speedwell. It is also listed as Veronica catenata. Its true native range is not clear, but the plant is present on most continents, and in most places it is probably naturalized. It occurs in many types of moist and wet habitat, and it is semi-aquatic, often growing in shallow water along streambanks, in ponds, and in other wetland environments. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb with stems growing 10 centimeters to about a meter in maximum length. It may be decumbent, the stem spreading along the ground and rooting where it touches moist substrate, or erect in form. The oppositely arranged leaves are green, smooth-edged or toothed, and sometimes clasping the stem where the leaf pairs meet at the bases. The inflorescence is a raceme of many flowers arising from the leaf axils. Each flower is borne on a short, curving pedicel. The flower corolla is up to a centimeter wide with four lobes, the upper lobe being widest. It is blue, lavender, or violet with purple lines near the base of each lobe. At the center are two small protruding stamens.

<i>Vicia benghalensis</i> Species of legume

Vicia benghalensis is a species of vetch known by the common names purple vetch and reddish tufted vetch. It is native to southern Europe, North Africa, and nearby islands, and it is utilized elsewhere in agriculture and may be present in the wild as an introduced species. It is an annual herb with a climbing stem which is coated in hairs, often densely, making the plant appear silvery white. Each leaf is made up of several pairs of elongated leaflets which measure up to 3 centimeters in length. The inflorescence is a one-side raceme of several dark reddish purple flowers. Each flower has a densely hairy calyx of sepals and a tubular corolla between one and two centimeters in length. The fruit is a flat, hairy legume pod up to 3.5 centimeters long containing multiple seeds.

<i>Vicia nigricans</i> Species of legume

Vicia nigricans is a species of vetch known by the common name black vetch. It has a disjunct distribution, its two subspecies divided by thousands of miles in range. The northern subspecies, ssp. gigantea, is native to western North America from Alaska to northern California, where it occurs in coastal and moist inland habitat and disturbed areas. The southern subspecies, ssp. nigricans, occurs in southern South America, in Argentina and Chile.

<i>Senna italica</i> Species of legume

Senna italica, the Port Royal senna, Italian senna, or Senegal senna is a legume tree in the genus Senna. It is recognized by many other common names based on the regions it grows in. In India, it is used to produce a powder for treating hair-related diseases which is known as “neutral henna”. Whereas, in some parts of the world, this species is cultivated for the leaves which yield the drug senna, known commonly as Senna glycoside, which in turn is the base for a laxative. Senegal senna is easily distinguishable through its many distinctive features. There are 3 subspecies of this plant based on the size of the inflorescence and the length of the petiole. The subspecies are italica, micrantha, and arachoides. In many regions, this plant is cultivated commercially and medicinally.

<i>Aeschynomene americana</i> Species of legume

Aeschynomene americana is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae (legume) known by many common names, including shyleaf, forage aeschynomene, American joint vetch, thornless mimosa, bastard sensitive plant (Jamaica), pega pega, pega ropa, antejuela, ronte, cujicillo, and dormilonga. It is native to Central America, parts of South America, the West Indies, and Florida. It is now found in the US, in Australia and in South-East Asia.

<i>Rhynchosia minima</i> Species of legume

Rhynchosia minima is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names least snout-bean, burn-mouth-vine, and jumby-bean. It can be found on every continent. It is naturalized in Hawaii.

<i>Alysicarpus vaginalis</i> Species of flowering plant in the legume family

Alysicarpus vaginalis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is native to parts of Africa and Asia, and it has been introduced to other continents, such as Australia and the Americas. It is cultivated as a fodder for livestock, for erosion control, and as a green manure. Common names include alyce clover, buffalo clover, buffalo-bur, one-leaf clover, and white moneywort.

References

  1. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Senna didymobotrya". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  2. World Agroforestry Centre
  3. Schmelzer, G. H. and A. Gurib-Fakim. (2008). Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 1: Medicinal Plants. page 507.
  4. GRIN-link and Blundell, M. 1987. Wild Flowers of East Africa. page 92.
  5. "Catalogue of Life - Senna" . Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  6. "Open Tree of Life".
  7. "CABI - Senna italica distribution maps" . Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  8. "Kalenjin taught how to make hygienic mursik". The Star. Retrieved 2023-05-22.