Keywords

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Scientific Name

Senna timoriensis (DC.) H. S. Irwin & Barneby

Synonyms

Cassia arayatensis Litv., Cassia exalta Blume, Cassia goensis Dalzell, Cassia montana Naves & Villar, Cassia montana auct.non Roth, Cassia timoriensis DC., Cassia timoriensis DC. basionym, Senna glauca Roxb.

Family

Fabaceae also placed in Caesalpiniaceae

Common/English Names

Arremene, Golden Bird, Limestone Cassia

Vernacular Names

Burmese: Taung-Mezali, Taw-Mezalie

Indonesia: Eheng, Hing, Ihing, Nyinging, Ture, Waringinan (Javanese), Haringhin (Sundanese) Kayu Pelen (Timor)

Malaysia: Beresksa, Beksa, Babatai, Bebatai, Sinteng Hutan (Malay)

Philippines: Malamalunggai

Thai : Khi Lek Daeng, Khi Lek Lueat, Khi Lek Pa

Vietnamese: Muồng Đỏ, Muồng Tía, Khỉ Pọi

Origin/Distribution

The species is native to India, Ceylon, Myanmar, Thailand and through the Malay Peninsula to Northern Australia.

Agroecology

It is a drought-tolerant species naturalized in low elevations from sea level to 200 m. It usually occurs in disturbed sandy sites, sandstone outcrops, stony slopes or in thickets in limestone areas in its native range. It is also cultivated as ornamental and avenue trees.

Edible Plant Parts and Uses

The bitter young leaves and inflorescence/flowers are edible, cooked as vegetables in Thailand (Pongpangan and Poobrasert 1985). Young leaves and flowers can be used as vegetable by soft boiling and eating with chilli sauce (Monkheang et al. 2011). Both plant parts are sold in local markets in Thailand.

Botany

A small, evergreen, perennial tree or shrub usually 2–6 m but may grow to 10 m high, pubescent on vegetative parts, inflorescence, sepals and ovary, otherwise glabrous. Leaves pinnate, 14–20 cm long with a terete 10–15 mm long petiole, acicular stipules and comprising 10–20 pairs of narrowly oblong to narrowly elliptic, 1.5–5.5 cm long by 0.8–1.7 cm wide leaflets, obtuse, apiculate and eglandular (Plates 1 and 2). Inflorescence corymbose paniculate, axillary or terminal, bract linear, flowers pedicellate, pentamerous with five unequal sepals, five yellow obovate, clawed petals and ten stamens (seven fertile and three staminodes) with subequal filaments and unequal anthers, ovary superior with 1 style and stigma (Plate 1). Fruit a long narrow, flat, legume, 6–15 cm long by 1–1.5 cm wide, septate with 10–20 shiny brown, suborbicular seeds.

Plate 1
figure a

Flowers, pods and leaves

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Plate 2
figure b

Young tender leafy shoots sold as vegetables in the local markets

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Nutritive/Medicinal Properties

Aloe emodin and 2,5-dimethyl-3αH-pyrano[2,3,4-de]-l-benzopyran-3α,8-diol (barakol) were isolated from Cassia timoriensis leaves (Gritsanapan et al. 1984).

Cassia timoriensis plant extract was one of several Thai medicinal plants that exhibited good antioxidant activity and could completely inhibit Heinz body formation at the dilution of 1:20 (Palasuwan et al. 2005). Heinz bodies are intracellular precipitates formed by damage to the haemoglobin component molecules in erythrocytes, usually through oxidant damage.

Traditional Medicinal Uses

C. timoriensis is used for scabies and itch and as a vermifuge (Toruan-Purba 1999). The plant is used as medicine for menstrual disorders, tonic, antitumour, blood stasis and cough in Thailand (Palasuwan et al. 2005); the heartwood is used as a traditional medicine by women to stimulate menstrual blood flow (Monkheang et al. 2011).

Other Uses

The plant is commonly grown as ornamental tree in parks and gardens or as shade trees along roads. The wood is used for matchsticks, matchboxes, joinery, cement casks and decorative items.

Comments

The plant is propagated from seeds or stem cuttings.