Senna alata

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Seeds, Seeds - coffee, Flowers

Young leaves are edible when cooked, and toasted leaves are sometimes used as a coffee substitute. Young pods are cooked and eaten as a vegetable, though only in small amounts.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It prefers light to medium soils. It grows best in an open sunny position. It is drought and frost tender. It grows in rainforests and near swamps. It suits humid locations. It grows from 5 m to 360 m altitude in Papua New Guinea. In some countries it has been recorded up to 2,100 m above sea level. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 1,000 m above sea level. In Yunnan.

Africa, Amazon, American Samoa, Angola, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Central Africa, Central America*, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Congo DR, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Gabon, Ghana, Grenada, Guiana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Lesser Antilles, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marquesas, Mexico, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nicaragua, Niue, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Palau, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Rotuma, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, South America, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, Suriname, Thailand, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies*,

How to Identify

A shrub which loses its leaves during the year. It grows to 1-6 m high and spreads to 2 m across. The stem is erect and slender. The young stems are finely hairy. The leaves are large and oblong. They are divided into 8-14 pairs of leaflets. These are oblong and 5-19 cm long by 2.5-12 cm wide. They are usually blunt at the top. The flowers are yellow. They occur in spike-like clusters. These are 15-70 cm long. The fruit are winged pods. They are black and 12-17 cm long, with the central part 1.5-2 cm wide. The pod has partitions across it. The edge of the wing is wavy. The seeds are oval with a beak. They are 6-8 mm long and 4-5 mm wide. There are 2 shiny green patches near the beak.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from seed.

Propagation: Seed requires pre-treatment to soften the hard seedcoat and allow water uptake. Soak the seed in a small amount of nearly boiling water (which cools quickly and does not cook the seed), then soak in warm water for 12–24 hours. Alternatively, carefully abrade a small area of the seedcoat without damaging the embryo. Can also be propagated by cuttings.

Medicinal Uses

Ringworm bush is widely used in traditional medicine, particularly valued for its laxative effect and its treatment of skin conditions including ringworm and scabies — uses supported by research. Anthraquinone derivatives isolated from the leaves include aloe-emodin, chrysophanol, isochrysophanol, and rhein, along with the alkaloid tyramine and the steroid beta-sitosterol. Crude leaf extracts show antibacterial activity against a range of bacteria (including Dermatophilus congolensis, which causes serious skin disease in cattle), antifungal properties (including against Pityriasis versicolor in humans), and antitumour activity. The bark contains tannins. The petals contain anthraquinones, glycosides, steroids, tannins, and volatile oil, and petal extracts show bactericidal activity against gram-positive but not gram-negative bacteria. Overall, the plant is laxative, antibacterial, antitumour, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, analgesic, vulnerary, weakly antifungal, hypoglycaemic, and antispasmodic. The leaves are laxative, taken internally for constipation and blood purification. Decocted leaves — with or without Tripogandra serrulata and Persea americana — treat biliousness and hypertension. Leaves are widely used for skin diseases, applied as a tincture, poultice, oil-mixed powder, or raw sap, effectively treating scabies, ringworm, and other fungal skin infections. The bark treats skin diseases, diarrhoea, worms, parasitic skin diseases, scabies, and eczema. The root is laxative; an infusion treats diarrhoea, tympanites, uterus problems, and filaria worm expulsion, and the root is applied externally to sores and skin fungi. The flowers are laxative and vermifuge; an infusion treats spleen conditions, and a decoction with Zingiber officinale treats grippe and acts as an abortifacient. Flowers decocted with coconut milk are used as a laxative. A combined infusion of leaves, flowers, and fruit treats stomach problems. The seed is laxative and anthelmintic, cooked to remedy intestinal worms. The leaf contains the purgative anthraquinone and shows antimicrobial activity. The stem contains chrysophanol, emodin, rhein, and aloe-emodin. Leaf and fruit contain purgative anthracene derivatives of aloe-emodin and rhein.

Other Uses

The plant has insecticidal and parasiticidal properties. The bark is a source of tannins and is sometimes used as a colouring agent in tattooing.

Senna alata is an important medicinal tree, as well as an ornamental flowering plant in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It also known as emperor's candlesticks, candle bush, candelabra bush, Christmas candles, empress candle plant, ringworm shrub, Roman candle, or candletree. A remarkable species of Senna, it was sometimes separated in its own genus, Herpetica.

Other Information

It is not known if they are used for food in Papua New Guinea.

Notes

The leaves are used to treat ringworm. There are about 260 Senna species. It can be invasive. Also as Caesalpinaceae.

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