Senna uniflora

(Mill.) H. S. Irwin & Barneby

Oneleaf senna

FabaceaeSeeds/NutsSpice/Beverage

iNaturalist · cc-by
(c) Siddarth Machado, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Siddarth Machado

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Christine Delbouis, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Seeds - coffee

The seeds are roasted and used as a coffee substitute.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It grows between 200-1,000 m above sea level.

Asia, Brazil, Caribbean, Central America, Colombia, Dominican Republic, India, Mexico, South America, Venezuela, West Indies,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bolivia, Brazil, Bahamas, Bhutan, Belize, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Georgia, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Haiti, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, St Kitts & Nevis, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, St Lucia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Mexico, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Nepal, Oman, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Suriname, El Salvador, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Trinidad & Tobago, Taiwan, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, St Vincent, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

A tropical annual shrub in the legume family (Fabaceae) that grows approximately 1 m tall. It is native to tropical regions at elevations between 200–1,000 m and produces seeds that are used as a coffee substitute.

How to Grow

The seeds should be soaked in warm water before sowing.

Propagation: Seed - requires pre-treatment to soften the hard seedcoat and allow the ingress of water. 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.

Medicinal Uses

The leaves are used as poultices for wounds. The roots are used for combating dropsy.

Other Uses

In India cultivated to control and replace the weed Parthenium hysterophorus.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Senna uniflora, the oneleaf senna, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Colombia, Venezuela, and most of Brazil, and has been introduced to India, Mauritius, and Réunion. Although it is somewhat weedy and invasive, it is used to out-compete the pernicious weed Parthenium hysterophorus.

Names & Synonyms

Cassia ciliata Hoffmanns.Cassia uniflora Mill.and others

References (4)

Ferns, Useful Tropical Plants.
Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 798
Roa, J. A. G. & Boada, D. S. G., 2018, Fundación para el Fortalecimiento de la Fruticultura y Plantas Alimenticias no Convencionales en Colombia.
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew