This page is about the Cassia tora described by Linnaeus. Later authors usually applied the taxon

Taxon

|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...

 to Senna obtusifolia

Senna obtusifolia

Senna obtusifolia is a legume in the genus Senna, sometimes separated in the monotypic genus Diallobus. It grows wild in North, Central, and South America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, and is considered a particularly serious weed in many places...

.

Senna tora (originally described by Linné as Cassia tora) is a legume in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae

Caesalpinioideae

Caesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. Its name is formed from the generic name Caesalpinia....

. It's name has been derived from Sinhala language, in which it is called Tora (තෝර). In Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

 it is easily found in many places. It grows wild in most of the tropics

Tropics

The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately  N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at  S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...

 and is considered a weed

Weed

A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...

 in many places; its native range is not well known but probably South Asia

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

. It is often confused with Chinese Senna or Sicklepod, S. obtusifolia. If it is given a distinct common name at all, it is called Sickle Wild Sensitive-plant.

Use

This herb is used in Ayurveda medicine for treatment of swellings etc. In some parts of Sri Lanka, people add its flowers in cooking which makes delicious food.

Synonyms

The taxonomic history of this plant is extremely confused, even by the standards of Senna

Senna (genus)

Senna , the sennas, is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. This diverse genus is native throughout the tropics, with a small number of species reaching into temperate regions. The number of species is usually estimated to be about 260, but some...

and Cassia

Cassia (genus)

Cassia is a genus of Fabaceae in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. Commonly called cassias, "cassia" is also the English name of Cinnamomum aromaticum in the Lauraceae , and some other species of Cinnamomum...

. S. tora and S. obtusifolia were for long and are often still held to be - and may eventually be verified as - a single species. Hence, taxa referring to either species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 were indiscriminately applied to both.

• Cassia boreensis Miq.
• Cassia borneensis Miq.
• Cassia gallinaria Collad.
• Cassia numilis Collad.

Apparently a misprint for Cassia humilis, which would have been applied to this species in error as it is properly a synonym of Senna obtusifolia

Senna obtusifolia

Senna obtusifolia is a legume in the genus Senna, sometimes separated in the monotypic genus Diallobus. It grows wild in North, Central, and South America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, and is considered a particularly serious weed in many places...

and Chamaecrista kunthiana, depending on the author.

• Cassia tora L.

As discussed above, the Cassia tora of other authors refers to Senna obtusifolia

• Cassia tora L. var. borneensis (Miq.) Miq.

Cassia tora L. var. b, var. humilis, and var. obtusifolia all refer to Senna obtusifolia

• Emelista tora Britton & Rose