Sesbania pachycarpa
DC.
Fabaceae
Sesbania sinuo-carinata Ali
Common Name:
General Information
Sesbania pachycarpa is an erect semi-woody annual or biennal plant that can grow 100 - 250cm tall[
328- Title
- African Flowering Plants Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
- Publisher
- Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
,
610- Title
- Flora of Tropical East Africa
- Publication
-
- Author
- Beentje H.J.
- Website
- http://plants.jstor.org/search?st=396814
- Publisher
- Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew.
- Year
- 2002
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Available on-line, a modern flora of East Africa.
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of fibre. It is sometimes cultivated as a green manure crop.
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
610- Title
- Flora of Tropical East Africa
- Publication
-
- Author
- Beentje H.J.
- Website
- http://plants.jstor.org/search?st=396814
- Publisher
- Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew.
- Year
- 2002
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Available on-line, a modern flora of East Africa.
Range
Tropical Africa - Mauritania to Eritraea, south to Namibia and Zimbabwe
Habitat
Temporary swamps; Sorghum and Arachis fields; river-sides; humid places; sandy-clayey hollows; roadsides; deep soil on plateau; damp sandy thickets; at elevations up to 1,200 metres[
328- Title
- African Flowering Plants Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
- Publisher
- Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
].
Properties
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Medicinal Rating |  |
| Other Uses Rating |  |
| Habit | Annual/Biennial |
| Height | 1.50 m |
| Pollinators | Bees |
| Cultivation Status | Cultivated, Wild |
Cultivation Details
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[
755- Title
- Nodulation Plants in GRIN Taxonomy
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.ars-grin.gov/~sbmljw/cgi-bin/taxnodul.pl?language=en
- Publisher
- United States Department of Agriculture
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An online database listing plants that have either positive or negative reports on root and stem nodulation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
].
Edible Uses
Seeds - cooked[335,1605].
The seed contains around 16% of an oil[
1605- Title
- Fat Content and Fatty Acid Composition of Oils Extracted from Selected Wild-Gathered Tropical Plant Seeds from Niger
- Publication
- JAOCS, Vol. 75, no. 8 (1998) pp 1031-1036
- Author
- Ezeagu I.E.; Petzke K.J.' Lange E. & Metges C.C.
- Website
- http://10.1007/s11746-998-0282-6
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 1998
- ISBN
-
- Description
-
]. The oil contains high proportions of linoleic and oleic acid as well as palmitic and linolenic acid[
1605- Title
- Fat Content and Fatty Acid Composition of Oils Extracted from Selected Wild-Gathered Tropical Plant Seeds from Niger
- Publication
- JAOCS, Vol. 75, no. 8 (1998) pp 1031-1036
- Author
- Ezeagu I.E.; Petzke K.J.' Lange E. & Metges C.C.
- Website
- http://10.1007/s11746-998-0282-6
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 1998
- ISBN
-
- Description
-
].
Medicinal
The bark is a component of folk medicine[
]
Agroforestry Uses:
Sporadically cultivated in Africa as green manure[
].
Other Uses
The bark fibres are used[
].
Propagation
Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing to speed up germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing.
Cuttings.
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
