Senna occidentalis
Flower
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Genus: Senna
Species:
S. occidentalis
Binomial name
Senna occidentalis
Synonyms[2]
List
    • Cassia occidentalis L.
    • Ditremexa occidentalis (L.) Britton & Rose
    • Cassia caroliniana Walter
    • Cassia ciliata Raf.
    • Cassia falcata L.)
    • Cassia foetida Willemet nom. illeg.
    • Cassia glaucescens Hoffmanns.
    • Cassia macradenia Collad.
    • Cassia obliquifolia Schrank
    • Cassia occidentalis var. aristata Collad.
    • Cassia occidentalis var. glabra Vogel nom. illeg.
    • Cassia papulosa Hoffmanns.
    • Cassia planisiliqua L.
    • Cassia plumieri DC.
    • Diallobus falcatus (L.) Raf.
    • Ditremexa caroliniana (Walter) Raf.
    • Ditremexa fetida Raf.
    • Psilorhegma planisiliqua (L.) Britton & Rose
    • Senna andhrica P.V.Ramana, J.Swamy & M.Ahmed.
    • Senna occidentalis var. andhrica (P.V.Ramana, J.Swamy & M.Ahmed.) K.W.Jiang
    • Senna orientalis Walp.

Senna occidentalis, commonly known as coffee senna, styptic weed,[3] or septicweed,[4] is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is native to the southern United States of America, Mexico and South America. It is a shrub with pinnate leaves, with three to seven pairs of broadly elliptic to egg-shaped leaflets, and yellow flowers arranged in groups of two to four, with six fertile stamens in each flower. It is an aggressive, pantropical weed.

Description

Senna occidentalis is a foetid shrub that typically grows to a height of 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) and has softly-hairy branches and stems. Its leaves are pinnate, 150–170 mm (5.9–6.7 in) long on a petiole 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) long, with three to seven pairs of broadly elliptic to egg-shaped leaflets 50–70 mm (2.0–2.8 in) long and 30–40 mm (1.2–1.6 in) wide, spaced 15–30 mm (0.59–1.18 in) apart. There is a sessile glands near the base of the petiole. The flowers are yellow and arranged on the ends of branchlets and in upper leaf axils in groups of two to four on a peduncle 2–5 mm (0.079–0.197 in) long, each flower on a pedicel 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long. The petals are up to 10 mm (0.39 in) long and there are six fertile stamens, the anthers varying in length from 4 to 6 mm (0.16 to 0.24 in) long, and four staminodes. Flowering occurs all year, and the fruit is a cylindrical pod 120–180 mm (4.7–7.1 in) long, about 3 mm (0.12 in) wide and slightly curved.[3][5]

Pods

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus who gave it the name Cassia occidentalis in Species Plantarum from specimens collected in Jamaica.[6][7] In 1829, Link transferred the species to the genus Senna as S. occidentalis in his Handbuch zur Erkennung der nutzbarsten und am häufigsten vorkommenden Gewachse.[8][9] The specific epithet (occidentalis) means "western".[10]

Distribution and habitat

Coffee senna is native to the southern United States of America, Mexico and South America,[2] but is an aggressive, pantropical weed. In Australia it is widespread but scattered in the north of Western Australia,[11] the Northern Territory,[12] South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales.[3][5]

Toxicity

The plant is reported to be poisonous to cattle,[13] because it contains a known toxic derivative of anthraquinone called emodin.[14] and the seeds contain chrysarobin (1,8-dihydroxy-3-methyl-9-anthrone) and N-methylmorpholine.[15]

Despite the claims of being poisonous, the leaves of this plant, Dhiguthiyara in the Maldivian language,[16] have been used in the diet of the Maldives for centuries[17] in dishes such as mas huni and also as a medicinal plant.[18]

Almost all parts (leaf, root, seeds) of the plant are used as food and medicine by tribal populations in India. However, consumption of Bana Chakunda seeds has been identified as a possible cause of death of tribal children due to acute Encephalopathy (see Acute HME syndrome).[19][20] Once the plant was identified as the cause, the number of deaths plummeted.[21]

The same thing happened in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where 16 outbreaks were recorded.[22] This was a record in comparison to the clinical study of 1979, at which eight calves died after contracting dyspnea, neutrophilia and tachycardia from consumption of the plant.[23]

References

  1. ↑ Rotton, H. & Klitgård, B. (2021). "Senna occidentalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T130525346A158506718. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Senna occidentalis". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Wiecek, Barbara. "Senna occidentalis". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  4. ↑ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Senna occidentalis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Senna occidentalis". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  6. ↑ "Senna occidentalis". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  7. ↑ Linnaeus, Carl (1753). Species Plantarum. Vol. 1. Berlin: Junk. p. 377. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "Senna occidentalis". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  9. ↑ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 264. ISBN 9780958034180.
  10. ↑ "Senna occidentalis". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  11. ↑ "Senna occidentalis". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  12. ↑ Barth, AT; Kommers, GD; Salles, MS; Wouters, F; de Barros, CS (1994). "Coffee Senna (Senna occidentalis) poisoning in cattle in Brazil". Vet Hum Toxicol. 36 (6): 541–5. PMID 7900275.
  13. ↑ Chukwujekwu, J.C.; Coombes, P.H.; Mulholland, D.A.; van Staden, J. (2006). "Emodin, an antibacterial anthraquinone from the roots of Cassia occidentalis". South African Journal of Botany. 72 (2): 295–297. doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2005.08.003.
  14. ↑ Kim, Hyeong L.; Camp, Bennie J.; Grigsby, Ronald D. (1971). "Isolation of N-methylmorpholine from the seeds of Cassia occidentalis (coffee senna)". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 19 (1): 198–199. doi:10.1021/jf60173a026. PMID 5540753.
  15. ↑ "Thimaaveshi – Catalogue of Plants – Edition II" (PDF). October 2009.
  16. ↑ "List of food items in 'Maldives Coding System'" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-04. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  17. ↑ Xavier Romero-Frias (2003). The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. Nova Ethnographia Indica. ISBN 8472548015.
  18. ↑ "Experts' report on Malkangiri kids death evokes mixed reaction". 19 November 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  19. ↑ Nadiya Chand Kanungo (25 November 2016). "Strange: Now M'giri kids' deaths linked to Chakunda Plant rather rich in medicinal properties". The Daily Pioneer. Bhubaneswar. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  20. ↑ Vashishtha VM; Kumar A; John TJ; Nayak NC (2007). "Cassia occidentalis poisoning as the probable cause of hepatomyoencephalopathy in children in western Uttar Pradesh" (PDF). Indian Journal of Medical Research. 125 (6): 756–762. PMID 17704552. S2CID 12820053. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-05-02. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  21. ↑ Carmo, Priscila M.S.; Irigoyen, Luiz Francisco; Lucena, Ricardo B.; Fighera, Rafael A.; Kommers, Glaucia D.; Barros, Claudio S.L. (February 2011). "Spontaneous coffee senna poisoning in cattle: report on 16 outbreaks". Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira. Rio de Janeiro. 31 (2): 139–146. doi:10.1590/S0100-736X2011000200008.
  22. ↑ Rogers, R.J.; Giboson, J.; Reichmann, K.G. (September 1979). "The Toxicity of Cassia occidentalis for Cattle". Australian Veterinary Journal. 55 (9): 408–412. doi:10.1111/j.1751-0813.1979.tb05590.x. PMID 543831.
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