Sesbania bispinosa
Encyclopedia
The legume
Sesbania bispinosa, also known as Sesbania aculeata (Willd.) Pers., is a small tree in the genus Sesbania
.
The flower is the provincial flower of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, Thailand
.
, it is called điên điển gai or điền thanh gai.
, is most common in tropical Africa where it grows as a common noxious weed
, and has been introduced to the Americas. It can grow on saline soil.
S. bispinosa is adapted to wet, heavy soil but apparently adapts easily to drought-prone or sandy regions. It is cultivated widely in India
and it is grown in rice paddies
in Vietnam
for use as firewood.
In the Thai language
the flowers are called ดอกโสน (dok sanō). They are used in Thai cuisine both cooked and raw, they can also be used to make omelettes and sweets.
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
Sesbania bispinosa, also known as Sesbania aculeata (Willd.) Pers., is a small tree in the genus Sesbania
Sesbania
Sesbania is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae and the only genus found in Tribe Sesbanieae. Notable species include the Rattlebox , Spiny Sesbania , and Sesbania sesban, which is used in cooking...
.
The flower is the provincial flower of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
Names
The name Sesbania is taken from it's Arabic name Siesaban "سيسبان". It is known by many common names, including danchi, dunchi, dhaincha, canicha, prickly sesban, or spiny sesbania. In VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, it is called điên điển gai or điền thanh gai.
Distribution and habitat
It is native to Asia and North AfricaNorth Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, is most common in tropical Africa where it grows as a common noxious weed
Noxious weeds
A noxious weed is an invasive species of a plant that has been designated by country, state or provincial, or national agricultural authorities as one that is injurious to agricultural and/or horticultural crops, natural habitats and/or ecosystems, and/or humans or livestock...
, and has been introduced to the Americas. It can grow on saline soil.
S. bispinosa is adapted to wet, heavy soil but apparently adapts easily to drought-prone or sandy regions. It is cultivated widely in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and it is grown in rice paddies
Paddy field
A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops. Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice farming in east, south and southeast Asia. Paddies can be built into steep hillsides as terraces and adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped features such...
in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
for use as firewood.
Description
It is an annual shrub which can grow to seven meters in height but usually only reaches one to two meters. It sends out fibrous, pithy stems with long leaves and bears purple-spotted yellow flowers. It produces pods which contain light brown beans.Uses
The plant has a great number of uses, including as green manure, rice straw, wood and fodder.- It can be used like industrial hempHempHemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...
for rope, fish nets, sackcloth and sailcloth. Its fibers are similar to those of birchBirchBirch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
trees and show promise as a source of paperPaperPaper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
fiber. - The foliage makes a good fodder for livestock and the beans can be fed to fowl. The plant has been also used as a famine foodFamine foodA famine food or poverty food is any inexpensive or readily-available foodstuff used to nourish people in times of extreme poverty or starvation, as during a war or famine...
by people. - Natural gumNatural gumNatural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing a large viscosity increase in solution, even at small concentrations. In the food industry they are used as thickening agents, gelling agents, emulsifying agents, and stabilizers...
from the plant is useful as a thickening agent. - Like other legumes, it can be planted to improve the soil via nitrogen fixationNitrogen fixationNitrogen fixation is the natural process, either biological or abiotic, by which nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into ammonia . This process is essential for life because fixed nitrogen is required to biosynthesize the basic building blocks of life, e.g., nucleotides for DNA and RNA and...
. - It makes a good firewood.
- The beans have historically been used in poulticePoulticeA poultice, also called cataplasm, is a soft moist mass, often heated and medicated, that is spread on cloth over the skin to treat an aching, inflamed, or painful part of the body. It can be used on wounds such as cuts...
s to treat ringworm and other skin infections.
Culinary uses
The yellow flowers of S. aculeata are eaten as a vegetable in Southeast Asia. They are much smaller than the more popular white flowers of Sesbania grandiflora, but similar in shape. Still, they are appreciated as food in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine.In the Thai language
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
the flowers are called ดอกโสน (dok sanō). They are used in Thai cuisine both cooked and raw, they can also be used to make omelettes and sweets.