Botanical name -
Sesbania grandiflora
Family -Papilionaceae
Sanskrit names -Agastya, Vangasena, Muni pushpa, Munidruma
Singhalese name- - Katurumurunga කතුරැමුරැංගා
Bengali (agusta,bake,bak,bagphal,agati); Creole Patois (pwa valet,pwa
valye); English (flamingo bill,grandiflora,Australian corkwood tree,August
flower,sesban,agati sesbania,West Indian pea,white dragon
tree,vegetable-humming bird,agathi,tiger tongue,swamp pea); Filipino
(pan,gauai-gauai,katurai,katuday); French (pois valliere,pois vallier,colbri
vegetal,papillon,fleur papillon,fagotier,pois valette); German (Turibaum);
Gujarati (agathio); Hindi
(basna,bak,chogache,basma,agasti,hatiya,daincha); Indonesian
(tuwi,turi,toroy); Italian (sesbania); Khmer (ângkiëdèi); Lao (Sino-Tibetan)
(kh’ê: kha:w); Malay (petai belalang,kacang turi,sesban getih,sesban);
Nepali (agasti); Sanskrit (agasti,agati,anari); Sinhala (murunga,kathuru);
Spanish (paloma,cresta de gallo,baculo,zapaton blanco,gallito,pico de
flamenco); Tamil (peragathi,agati,agathi); Thai (kae-ban,khae,ton kae);
Vietnamese (so dua)
Parts used - Leaves, bark & flowers
BOTANIC DESCRIPTION
Sesbania grandiflora is a small, loosely branching tree that grows up to 8-
15 m tall and 25-30 cm in diameter; stems tomentose, unarmed; roots
normally heavily nodulated with large nodules; the tree can develop
floating roots.
Leaves alternate and compound; pinnate, 15-30 cm long with 12-20 pairs
of oblong, rounded leaflets, 3-4 cm long and about 1 cm wide; leaves
borne only on terminal ends of branches; leaves turn bright yellow before
shedding.
Flower clusters hanging at leaf base have 2-5 large or giant flowers; pink,
red or white, pealike, 5-10 cm in length, curved, about 3 cm wide before
opening.
Pods long and narrow, hanging down 30-50 cm by 8 mm; septate, wide,
flat, with swollen margins and about 15-40 pale-coloured seeds; seed is
beanlike, elliptical, red brown, 6-8 in a pod, 3.5 mm, each weighting 1 g.
The generic name is derived from an Arab word for one of the species, S.
sesban. The specific epithet means large-flowered in Latin.
Properties:
Rasa Tikta
Guna Laghu, ruksha
Veerya Sheeta
Vipaka Madhura
Attributes / Karma:
Alleviates Kapha & Pitta. Vitiates Vata.
Cures – (Pratisya) rhinitis, (Naktanda nasana) night blindness.
Flowers – cures fever & Pratisya
Medicinal uses
External
•
Chronic rhinitis & sinusitis - Juice of Leaves & flowers are used in Virecana Nasya.
•
Bark & leaves are useful in inflammation & wounds.
Internal
•
Vegetable of flowers & leaves are useful in constipation.
•
Chronic intestinal disorders – juice of the bark is used with honey.
PRODUCTS
Food: Leaves, seeds, pods and flowers of S. grandiflora are edible. Flowers are the most widely used part, and white
flowers are preferred to the red. In the Philippines, unopened white flowers are a common vegetable, steamed or
cooked in soups and stews after the stamen and calyx have been removed. The raw flowers are eaten as salad in
Thailand. Young leaves are also eaten, usually chopped fine and steamed, cooked or fried. Tender pods are eaten as
string beans.
Fodder: Leaves and pods are valued for fodder. The tree produces leaves for fodder within 4 months of establishment.
The leaves contain 36% crude protein (dry weight) and 9600 IU vitamin A in every 100 g. For fodder production, the tree
is cut when 90-120 cm tall (1.8 kg) and fed to animals in a rice straw diet. This regime showed growth increases
comparable with those obtained by feeding formulated diets. The most effective method of feeding the fodder to
ruminants is to supplement with it up to 15-30% of the total diet. Because of its high protein content, S. grandiflora
should not be solely fed to animals but should be combined with a roughage that is low in protein and high in energy,
such as rice or maize straw. Intake of low-quality feed materials can be increased by supplementing them with S.
grandiflora fodder. The fodder can be fed fresh, wilted or dried. The dried fodder can be stored and saved for times of
shortage; for example, in Indonesia it provides 70% of the diet of cattle and goats during the dry season. Forage
production of 4.5-9.1 kg/ha per year could be expected. S. grandiflora leaves are toxic to chickens and should not be
fed to them or other monogastric animals. The fruit is also used as forage.
Fuel: The wood is rather light and not highly regarded as a fuel because it smokes excessively when burning. Having a
weight of only 500 kg/square m, it burns rapidly without much heat. But its fast growth and availability within a year of
planting make it a locally popular fuelwood. The wood should be well dried, as it deteriorates in storage and becomes
corky, dusty and unfit for burning. Its calorific value is 17.91 MJ/kg, with a high ash content (6%) and low percentage of
carbon (11.7%).
Fibre: At a very short rotation of 3-4 years, S. grandiflora is capable of producing much higher cellulose raw material
per unit area than most other pulp woods. Even trees 3-4 years old can be pulped without debarking and are suitable
for chemical pulping for use as cheap printing, writing, magazine and newsprint paper. The fibres are short. Fibre can
also be blended with long-fibred bamboo pulp in suitable proportions to give good strength. On a 3-year rotation, about
41 t/ha per year of pulp can be harvested.
Timber: The density of the wood increases with age, and the timber from 5 to 8 year-old trees can be used in house
construction or as craft wood. The trunk has been used for poles but may not last long due to rot and insect infestation.
The light wood is used in floating fishing nets.
Gum or resin: Bark exudate and seed endosperm gums are produced. The clear gum from the bark is used in foods
and adhesives as a substitute for gum arabic. The bark yields tannins.
Medicine: Crushed leaves are applied to sprains and bruises of all kinds. A tea made from the leaves is believed to
have antibiotic, anthelmintic, antitumour and contraceptive properties. The bark is considered as a tonic and an
antipyretic, a remedy for gastric troubles, colic with diarrhoea and dysentery. A bark decoction is taken orally to treat
fever and diabetes. Juice of flowers put in the eyes is said to relieve dimness of vision. The leaves also have medicinal
value and are reported to cure night blindness in cattle. In India, all plant parts are reputed to cure night blindness. The
root is a well-known medicine for malaria.
Leaves and flowers are used as poultices. The principal medicinal effects are due to the tree’s astringency, hence it is
used against inflammation, venom and other poisons, bacterial infections and tumors. Root juices are used for poultices
and the leaves are applied for rheumatism, swellings, bruises and itching. For systemic disorders, decoctions are taken
internally. Root resin, mixed with honey, is taken orally for phlegm and root juices are taken as an expectorant. Sinus
congestion is reduced by taking a flower decoction.
