''Senna bicapsularis'' is a species of the legume

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' Senna'', native to northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

, from

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

south to

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and Colombia, and also the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. Common names include rambling senna (formerly "cassia"), winter cassia, Christmas bush, money bush, and yellow candlewood. In

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Senna pendula is usually cultivated as, and misapplied to, S. bicapsularis.

Description

It is a

semi-evergreen Semi-deciduous or semi-evergreen is a botanical term which refers to plants that lose their foliage for a very short period, when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and sub-tropical woody spe ...

shrub growing to 3.5 m tall with a low spreading crown that reproduces by seed. It can grow from 2 - 12 metres tall and it branches from near the base. The leaves are 2.5–9 cm long, pinnate, with six to eight leaflets; the leaflets are 1.6–4.5 cm long and 1.1–2.3 cm broad. The yellow

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are produced in masses with a few together on short racemes and 12–16 mm long. The plant flowers from autumn to winter, attracting bees and butterflies. ''Senna bicapsularis'' is distinguished from '' Senna pendula'' by having 3 pairs of leaflets on each leaf and elongated

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

s (flower stalks), while 'S. pendula' has 4-7 pairs of leaflets on each leaf and a gland between each pair of leaflets, with shorter flower stalks. S. bicapsularis flowers from late fall to winter depending on climate, whilst 'S. pendula' can flower from as early as late summer. Senna pendula can grow very easily from seed, while bicapsularis has a tough seed coat that needs mechanical scarification to sprout with success.

Uses

The

Nahuas The Nahuas () are a group of the indigenous people of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They comprise the largest indigenous group in Mexico and second largest in El Salvador. The Mexica (Aztecs) were of Nahua ethnicity, a ...

of San Luis Potosi resort to this plant for the healing of the enchantment. For this reason, the patient is cleaned with seven leaves of its leaves, passing them throughout the body. Likewise, as part of this treatment, while the healer prays, he perfumes the patient's body with a charcoal,

rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was known by the scientific name ''Rosmar ...

and

copal Copal is tree resin, particularly the aromatic resins from the copal tree ''Protium copal'' (Burseraceae) used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned incense and for other purposes. More generally, copal includes re ...

incense and then cleanses it with an egg to remove the "bad air" that has taken possession of his body. The leaves are edible and are used to cure

erysipelas Erysipelas () is a relatively common bacterial infection of the superficial layer of the skin ( upper dermis), extending to the superficial lymphatic vessels within the skin, characterized by a raised, well-defined, tender, bright red rash, t ...

in Morelos, and as an

antiseptic An antiseptic (from Greek ἀντί ''anti'', "against" and σηπτικός ''sēptikos'', "putrefactive") is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putre ...

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

. The sap from emaciated leaves can be used externally, with salt, to heal

rashes A rash is a change of the human skin which affects its color, appearance, or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cra ...

sore Sore may refer to: * Ulcer (dermatology), a sore on the skin or a mucous membrane * Sore, a mild pain or ache * ''Sore'' (album), by Buzzov*en * Sore (band), an Indonesian rock band * Sore, Landes, a village in the Landes département of France * ...

s, bites, stings,

eczema Dermatitis is inflammation of the skin, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened. The area of skin involved can ...

, scabies,

ringworm Dermatophytosis, also known as ringworm, is a fungal infection of the skin. Typically it results in a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. Hair loss may occur in the area affected. Symptoms begin four to fourteen days after exposure. Multiple ar ...

and thrush. In the 20th century, Maximino Martínez points out the following uses:

cathartic In medicine, a cathartic is a substance that ''accelerates'' defecation. This is similar to a laxative, which is a substance that ''eases'' defecation, usually by softening feces. It is possible for a substance to be both a laxative and a catha ...

and to counteract the effects of

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...

stings. The seedpod flavour resembles

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae ...

. The leaves can be cooked as a vegetable, which can be mixed with other leaves, beans or

pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

Invasive species

It is

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

and invasive in several coastal areas in the tropics, including

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...

and New Caledonia, where it is found in roadsides and disturbed areas, wooded grasslands,

fallow Fallow is a farming technique in which arable land is left without sowing for one or more vegetative cycles. The goal of fallowing is to allow the land to recover and store organic matter while retaining moisture and disrupting pest life cycl ...

land and

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

zones. PIER (2006)

Chemistry

The leaves and stems contain chaksinelike

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

s. The seeds contain

galactomannan Galactomannans are polysaccharides consisting of a mannose backbone with galactose side groups, more specifically, a (1-4)-linked beta-D-mannopyranose backbone with branchpoints from their 6-positions linked to alpha-D-galactose, (i.e. 1-6-linke ...

. The presence in the plant of cassin , 2,6- dialkyl-3-hydroxypyridine and socassidine has also been reported

Synonyms

''Senna bicapsularis'' has been described under a wide variety of names that are today considered its

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

s. Some of these were also applied to related plants in error. This phenomenon has happened with other

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

, which were mis-applied to this plant:ILDIS (2005) * ''Adipera bicapsularis'' (L.) Britton & Wilson * ''Adipera spiciflora'' Pittier * ''Cassia berterii'' Colla * ''Cassia bicapsularis'' L. :''Cassia bicapsularis'' ''sensu'' Bojer is erroneous for '' Senna pendula''. :''Cassia bicapsularis'' of other authors is erroneous for ''Senna pendula'' var. ''glabrata'' * ''Cassia bicapsularis'' L. var. ''aristata'' DC. :''Cassia aristata'' Benth. is a synonym of '' Chamaecrista aristata'' * ''Cassia bicapsularis'' L. var. ''quadrijuga'' DC. * ''Cassia collae'' G.Don * ''Cassia emarginata'' L. :''Cassia emarginata'' Clos is a synonym of '' Senna candolleana'' :''Cassia emarginata'' Mill. is a synonym of '' Chamaecrista pilosa'' * ''Cassia inflata'' Spreng. * ''Cassia laevigata'' ''sensu'' Prain :''Cassia laevigata'' Willd. is a synonym of ''

Senna septemtrionalis ''Senna septemtrionalis'', the arsenic bush, is a plant species in the genus '' Senna''. See also * List of vascular plants of Norfolk Island (Naturalised) References External links septemtrionalis Plants described in 1802 {{Caes ...

'' :''Cassia laevigata'' of other authors is erroneous for ''

Senna occidentalis ''Senna occidentalis'' ndian vernacular name ''Usaya ki Fali''is a pantropical plant species, native to the Americas. The species was formerly placed in the genus '' Cassia''. Vernacular names in English include septicweed, coffee senna, coffee ...

'' * ''Cassia limensis'' Lam. * ''Cassia sennoides'' Jacq. * ''Cassia spiciflora'' (Pittier) Pittier * ''Cathartocarpus bicapsularis'' (L.) Ham. * ''Chamaefistula inflata'' G.Don * ''Isandrina arborescens'' Raf. * ''Isandrina emarginata'' (L.) Britton & Rose

Footnotes

References

* (2005)
''Senna bicapsularis''
Version 10.01, November 2005. Retrieved 2007-DEC-20. * (2006)

Version of 2006-OCT-25. Retrieved 2007-DEC-20. * (2007): Germplasm Resources Information Network
''Senna bicapsularis''
Retrieved 2007-DEC-20. {{Taxonbar, from=Q7450831 bicapsularis Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of Panama Flora of Venezuela Flora of Colombia Flora of Mexico