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Sesbania grandiflora (L.)
Pers.
Synonym : Robinia grandiflora L.
Family
: Papilionoideae
Local Names
: Agathicheera, Agathi, Agasthi, Humming
bird tree
Flowering
and fruiting period:
June – September
Distribution: Cultivated and
naturalised in Tropical Africa and Asia, probably native of Indonesia
Habitat: Cultivated
IUCN
status:
Data Deficient
Endemic: No
Uses: Flowers edible raw or cooked. rushed leaves are
applied as a poultice to sprains and bruises of all kinds, swellings,
rheumatism, itching etc. A bark decoction is taken orally to treat fever,
diarrhoea, dysentery and diabetes. Juice of the flowers, put in the eyes, is
said to relieve dimness of vision. Sinus congestion is reduced by taking a
decoction of the flowers. The root is a well-known medicine for malaria. A
paste of the root is applied externally in the treatment of rheumatism. A gum
is obtained from the seed endosperm. The wood is a major source of pulp for use
in making paper. The wood is used for fuel and to make charcoal.
Key
Characters:
Small soft-wooded trees; up to 7 m tall;
branchlets pubescent. Leaves; leaflets 12-25 pairs, oblong, base rounded,.
Racemes, 2-4-flowered. Flowers, pendulous; pedicels to 2 cm long; bracts and
bracteoles 3-4 mm long, linear-oblong. Calyx campanulate; lobes triangular.
Corolla pink or white; standard to 10 x 6 cm, reflexed. Staminal sheath 3.5-6
cm long. Pods 30-45 cm long, 5-8 mm wide, slender, falcate or straight. Seeds
reddish-brown.
