Common Name: West African Laburnum

General Information

Cassia sieberiana is a deciduous shrub or small tree with a low-branching crown; it usually grows from 2 - 12 metres tall, but plants up to 20 metres have been recorded[, ].
The tree is often harvested from the wild for its use in traditional medicine and its bark and roots are commonly sold in local markets[]. The pods are locally traded, especially as a vermifuge[]. It is often planted as an ornamental, especially for its showy flowers which are produced when the tree is leafless, it is also planted as an avenue tree[].

Known Hazards

The roots and seeds are used as fish poison in Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria[].

Botanical References

Range

Western tropical Africa - Senegal and Gambia east to DR Congo and Uganda.

Habitat

Wooded grassland and savannah; secondary bush; lateritic soils; roadsides; gravel and ± concrete colluvium with clay; gallery forest; wet sites in short and long grass savannah; thickets; secondary (closed) forest; coastal scrub; sandstone plateaux[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	15.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of drier areas of the tropics, thriving best in savannah areas with an annual rainfall of 800mm or less[].
Prefers a deep, well-drained, moderately fertile sandy loam and a position in full sun[]. Plants grow best in an acid, sandy soil[].
The plant responds well to coppicing[].
The tree is one of the constituents of the vegetation of fallow fields in the Sahel, but unlike some species, such as the African locust bean (Parkia biglobosa), and shea butter tree (Vitellaria paradoxa), it is eradicated during clearing[].
Although it is a legume, the roots of this species lack nodulating ability and do not fix atmospheric nitrogen[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The leaves, roots and pods are widely used in traditional medicine[].
There has been some research into the medically active substances in the plant and several compounds have been identified including calcium oxalate, flavones), an anthraquinone and tannins[].
The purgative action of the plant can be ascribed to the anthraquinones. The flavones cause diuresis and have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity. An assay for antiviral activity against Herpes simplex virus type 1 showed that extracts had a significant activity against this virus[].
Leaf extracts were found to be active against Staphylococcus lutea, Mycobacterium phlei, Bacillus subtilis and Proteus sp., but not against Staphylococcus albus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Escherichia coli[].

The entire plant is purgative and diuretic. An infusion is given against all children’s diseases[]. Powder of different plant parts is applied to teeth to cure toothache; when mixed with butter it is used to treat skin diseases[].

An infusion of the leaves sweetened with honey is taken against stomach-ache, ulcers and diarrhoea[]. A steam bath of leafy twigs boiled in water is prescribed to help against malaria attacks and fever; the liquid should also be drunk[]. Boiled and squeezed fresh leaves are applied as poultice in pleurisy or burns[]. Gonorrhoea in women is treated by taking leaf powder with food[]. The twigs are used to treat sleeping sickness[].

The roots, boiled in water, are used to treat haemorrhoids, bilharzia, leprosy, dropsy and bloody dysentery[]. In large doses it is used to treat intestinal worms including tapeworms, although this is risky[]. A pinch of powdered dried decorticated roots, taken at the end of each meal, is said to prevent malaria[].
After soaking the roots in water, the liquid is used for a bath against tiredness and for body massage[]. Crushed roots are rubbed on the temples to treat headache[].

An infusion of the root bark is employed against venereal diseases, sterility and dysmenorrhoea[]. Capsules made from the root bark are prescribed against Aids[].

The yellow pulp around the seeds and an infusion of the pods is taken as a laxative[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The tree is sometimes planted in shelterbelts[].

Other Uses

The root wood is used as chewsticks[].

The heartwood is white or yellowish-pinkish, darkening to dark red upon exposure. It is finely textured, heavy, very hard, resistant to termites and difficult to work[, ]. It is suitable for making furniture, cabinet work, tools, construction and railway sleepers[, ].
The wood is used for fuel, but it is considered inferior because it produces a lot of smoke[].

Propagation

Seed - when fresh seed is sown there is almost 100% germination[]. Older seed needs to be treated before sowing by soaking in warm water for 12 - 24 hours or by sulphuric acid stratification[]. Passage of seeds through cattle intestines also hastens germination[].
Marcotting and side-grafting are feasible for vegetative multiplication.

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