Senna singueana
(Delile) Lock
Winter cassia, Sticky pod
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Summary
Senna singueana is a fast-growing deciduous tree reaching 5 m tall by 4 m wide. Hardy to UK zone 10, it grows in light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils preferring good drainage. Tolerates mildly acid, neutral, and mildly alkaline pH; requires full sun and cannot grow in shade. Prefers moist soil. Flowers are bee-pollinated and the tree fixes nitrogen.
Description
A shrub or small tree. It grows 4-5 m high. It can grow 15 m high. The bark is brown and rough. It loses its leaves during the year. The leaves are compound with leaflets along the stalk. The leaves have 4-10 pairs of leaflets. The leaflets are oval and 2.5-5 cm long and 1-1.5 cm wide. There is a gland between each pair of leaflets. The flowers are deep yellow. They occur in large loose sprays. These are about 15 cm long by 20 cm wide. The fruit is a narrow pod. It is 25 cm long. It is constricted between the seeds. They are yellow when ripe.
Edible Uses
The pods can be eaten raw or cooked — they are fleshy and sweet. Ripe pods are collected, broken open, the sweet pulp sucked out, and the seeds discarded. They are eaten mostly by children and herdsmen. The seeds are used as a coffee substitute. The leaves are eaten as a cooked vegetable in Malawi and Tanzania, though elsewhere they are considered poisonous.
Traditional Uses
The young leaves are eaten cooked. The pods are eaten raw or made into a porridge after soaking, then boiling. The seeds are roasted and used as a coffee substitute.
Medicinal Uses
The plant has many medicinal uses throughout Africa, with modern research confirming the presence of a range of active compounds. The roots contain four tetrahydroanthracene derivatives — singueanol-I and -II, torosachrysone, and germichrysone — as well as the pentacyclic triterpene lupeol and the steroids campesterol, ß-sitosterol, and stigmasterol. These anthracene derivatives have shown significant activity against several gram-positive bacteria in vitro and also antispasmodic activity. Root bark extracts have demonstrated significant analgesic, antipyretic, anthelmintic, and antiplasmodial activity. The leaves have shown anthelmintic and antiviral properties but no significant antibacterial activity. The stem bark and leaves contain tannins and are astringent. The leaves, stem, and root bark are used as anthelmintics and to treat bilharzia. A leaf infusion is taken as a remedy for venereal disease, malaria, convulsions, epilepsy, coughs, intestinal worms, constipation, heartburn, and stomach-ache. A hot water leaf infusion is drunk and warm leaves applied as a compress to treat fever. Leaves, as a decoction, infusion, or dried powder, are applied to wounds from leprosy and syphilis. A leaf infusion applied as eye drops treats conjunctivitis. A root decoction treats wounds and is taken for diarrhoea, convulsions, dementia, and sexually transmitted diseases. The roots are also used for stomach complaints, as a purgative, and to treat impotence caused by diabetes. Ash from burnt roots is eaten mixed with porridge to treat abdominal pain. Stem bark extracts treat stomach complaints, skin disorders, and malaria. A flower infusion is used as an eye lotion. Fruit pulp soaked in water and cooked with staple food is eaten by lactating women as a galactagogue.
Known Hazards
The leaves are considered poisonous in some regions outside of Malawi and Tanzania, where they are eaten as a vegetable.
Distribution
A tropical plant. It grows in the drier savannah in tropical Africa. It suits hot arid places with a marked dry season. It can grow in rocky soils. It grows from 1500-1850 m altitude, and up to 2400 m altitude in Ethiopia. It re-grows after fire. It can grow in arid places. It is often on termite mounds. It grows in woodland and rocky hillsides at medium to low altitudes.
Where It Grows
Africa, Angola, Asia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, SE Asia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Cultivation
Plants are grown from seeds. Seeds germinate easily.
Propagation
Seed - pre-soak in warm water for 12 hours before sowing. Seed typically sprouts within 9 days, with a germination rate of around 78%.
Other Uses
The tree is used for soil improvement and is a nitrogen fixer, making it a suitable candidate for agroforestry in dry areas. The stem bark is used as a textile dye in Ethiopia and Zambia, and for tanning hides across much of East Africa. The fruits are used in Sudan for tanning skins. The leaves contain the flavonoid leucopelargonidin, which has dyeing properties. Bananas are wrapped in the leaves to accelerate ripening. Root fibres are used in hairpieces. The pale brown, distinctly grained wood is used for hut building, small furniture, tool handles, spoons, and carvings, as well as for fuel and charcoal production.
Production
It is quick growing. In Tanzania fruit are collected during the dry season usually from July to November.
Other Information
The pods are especially eaten by children. The leaves are often a famine food.
Notes
There are about 100 Cassia species. Also as Caesalpinaceae.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Busa, Hanqarar, Isihaqa esincinyane, Kadate, Kafungu-nasya, Karahaleko, Mbaraka, Mhumba, Mkundekunde, Mlewelewe, Mliwaliwa, Mpatsachokolo, Msua, Mtogo, Muhasa, Mukengeka, Munzungunzungu, Mutungulu, Mwisa, Ndiapimbwa, Ntantanyerere, Ntewelewe, Nuhumba, Tawetawe, Winter senna
References (31)
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