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Senna occidentalis

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Senna occidentalis
Habit
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

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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.[3][5]

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

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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

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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

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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] The plant is also has some poisonous characteristics to humans if enough of it is taken.[16]

Despite the claims of being poisonous, the leaves of this plant, Dhiguthiyara in the Maldivian language,[17] have been used in the diet of the Maldives for centuries[18] in dishes such as mas huni and also as a medicinal plant.[19]

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).[20][21] Once the plant was identified as the cause, the number of deaths plummeted.[22]

The same thing happened in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where 16 outbreaks were recorded.[23] 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.[24]

References

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  1. ^ Rotton, H. & Klitgård, B. (2021). "Senna occidentalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T130525346A158506718. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Senna occidentalis". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b c "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. ^ "Senna occidentalis". North Carolina State University - Extension Gardener. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  16. ^ "Thimaaveshi – Catalogue of Plants – Edition II" (PDF). October 2009.
  17. ^ "List of food items in 'Maldives Coding System'" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-04. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  18. ^ Xavier Romero-Frias (2003). The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. Nova Ethnographia Indica. ISBN 8472548015.
  19. ^ "Experts' report on Malkangiri kids death evokes mixed reaction". 19 November 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ 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. 31 (2). Rio de Janeiro: 139–146. doi:10.1590/S0100-736X2011000200008.
  23. ^ 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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