''Senna didymobotrya'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names African senna, popcorn senna, candelabra tree, and peanut butter cassia. It is native to Africa, where it can be found across the continent in several types of habitat. It has been introduced to many other parts of the world for use as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

, a

cover crop In agriculture, cover crops are plants that are planted to cover the soil rather than for the purpose of being harvested. Cover crops manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife i ...

and a leguminous

green manure In agriculture, a green manure is a crop specifically produced to be incorporated into the soil while still green. Typically, the green manure's biomass is incorporated with a plow or disk, as is often done with (brown) manure. The primary goal ...

. In some places it is now naturalized in the wild, for example, in parts of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and the United States in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

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 ...

, and

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Description

African senna is a hairy, aromatic

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

usually growing up to about five meters tall, but known to reach nine meters at times. The leaves of the plant are up to half a meter long and are made up of many pairs of elongated oval leaflets each up to 6.5 centimeters long. The African senna plant has a strong scent which has been variously described as being reminiscent of

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

, wet dog,

peanut butter Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. Peanut butter is consumed in many countri ...

, and burnt popcorn. The plant flowers plentifully in

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s of bright yellow flowers, with some flowers also occurring in leaf axils. The flower raceme has open flowers on the lower part with unopened buds at the tip covered in stark brownish green or black

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s. The flower has five concave petals each 1.5 to nearly 3 centimeters long. The flower has ten

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s, usually seven fertile ones and three sterile

staminode In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. ...

s. Some of the stamens have large anthers measuring a centimeter long. The fruits of the African senna plant are flat brown

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

pods up to 12 centimeters long, each containing as many as 16 bean-like seeds that are themselves up to a centimeter long each. The plant is poisonous.GRIN-link and Blundell, M. 1987. Wild Flowers of East Africa. page 92.

Taxonomy and phylogenetics

The African senna plant is one of 249 species in the genus '' Senna'' of the legume family. According to

Open Tree of Life The Open Tree of Life is an online phylogenetic tree of life – a collaborative effort, funded by the National Science Foundation. The first draft, including 2.3 million species, was released in September 2015. The Interactive graph allows the u ...

, it's closest relative is ''

Senna italica ''Senna italica'', the Port Royal senna, Italian senna, or Senegal senna is a legume tree in the genus ''Senna''. It is recognized by many other common names based on the regions it grows in. In India, it is used to produce a powder for treatin ...

'' which is also native to Africa as well as parts of India.

Uses

In Kenya, some cultures use the plant to prepare a special type of sour milk which is used mainly during festivities. A sizeable tree is cut and its branches pruned. The bark is mostly removed, then dried. Once the bark is dry, and the gourds of the plant have been cleaned and dried, the senna bark is put in a fire, and removed when charred. The process emits fragrant smoke. The charred bark is used to coat the gourd, which is subsequently used for the storage of fermented or fresh milk.

References

* Collins Mukoyo Sichari "Plants and Cultures in Kenya"

External links

*
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants Profile
didymobotrya {{Caesalpinioideae-stub