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Useful Tropical Plants

Senna oxyphylla

(Kunth) H.S.Irwin & Barneby

Fabaceae

+ Synonyms

Cassia hartwegii Benth.

Cassia oxyphylla Kunth

Common Name:

Senna oxyphylla
Drawing of the leaves and mature seedpods
Photograph by: Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, vol. 27: t. 61A (1871) [W.H. Fitch]
Creative Commons License

General Information

Senna oxyphylla is a shrub or small tree.
The plant is sometimes gathered from the wild for local medicinal use.
This taxon is not recorded as being threatened or in decline, however, there are a number of threats to the habitat, including logging, agriculture and other anthropogenic developments such as road building and settlement expansion. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2011)[
338
Title
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References


Range

Northern S. America - Ecuador north through Central America to Mexico.

Habitat

Forest margins, thickets, forest clearings, slopes, coastal hills and sometimes humid forest[
338
Title
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.iucnredlist.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
]. Found at elevations from sea level to 500 metres in Ecuador.

Properties

Conservation StatusLeast Concern
Medicinal Rating *  *
HabitShrub
Height0.00 m
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the lowland tropics.

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

None known

Medicinal

The plant is used as an emetic[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - requires pre-treatment to soften the hard seedcoat and allow the ingress of water[
299
Title
Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.prota.org
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. This can be done by soaking the seed in a small amount of nearly boiling water (which cools down quickly and does not cook the seed) and then soaking the seed for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. Alternatively, a small area of the seed coat can be abraded, being careful not to damage the embryo[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-10-12. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Senna+oxyphylla>

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