Diola, Diala
Chamaecrista nigricans
Family: Fabaceae
What it is like
Chamaecrista nigricans is an erect, tropical, woody plant up to 150 cm tall found in Africa. It is usually harvested from the wild for medicinal purposes. Mature leaves of C nigricans are bitter and added to food as an appetizer. Though used as pesticide, the leaves have medicinal purposes as well and used in the treatment of fever, malaria, cough, stomach pain, ulcers, diarrhoea, and worms. Infusion or decoction of leaves is applied on wounds and other skin conditions. The leaves can also be dried and made into powder and later on used as a storage protectant for pulses.
Chamaecrista nigricans is a PERENNIAL growing to 1.5 m (5ft) by 1.5 m (5ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. It can fix Nitrogen. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 1.5
Where it is found
Waste places, agricultural fields, roadsides and disturbed soil; also found in grassland and wooded savannah, at elevations from sea-level up to 1,200 metres.
Africa - widely distributed through tropical areas, through Arabia and southwest Asia to Pakistan and India.
Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.
Countries/locations it is found in
Found In: Africa, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, GuinŽe, Guinea-Bissau, India, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal, West Africa.
How it is used
Food
Rating: 1
The bitter mature leaves are added to food as an appetizer. The leaves are used for flavouring in sauces and other dishes.
Condiment: the various plants that are used as flavourings, either as herbs, spices or condiments.
Medicine
Rating: 2
The leaves are antiseptic, astringent, pesticide and vermifuge. They are used in the treatment of a wide range of conditions including fevers and malaria; venereal diseases; coughs; stomach-ache, peptic ulcers, diarrhoea and worms. An infusion of the aerial parts is taken as an anti-menstruation agent. Externally, an infusion or decoction of the leaves is applied to various skin conditions including insect stings, itching skin, wounds and abscesses. They are pounded in water and applied to ticks on humans and horses; and, mixed with palm oil, are rubbed on the head to kill lice. An infusion of the aerial parts is added to a bath to treat haemorrhoids. The root is anthelmintic, astringent, oxytocic and purgative. Pounded with water, it is used as a treatment against diarrhoea, whilst an infusion or decoction is used to remove internal parasites and stimulate uterine contractions to remove a retained placenta and to promote labour. The leaves contain the anthraquinone emodin. Methanolic extracts have shown analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. They have also shown a protective action against ulcers, this may be via histaminergic receptor inhibition. The extract also has a dose-dependent antidiarrhoeal activity. The extract has also shown contraceptive activity through oestrogenic and anti-implantation activities. Ethanolic plant extracts have shown antibacterial activity against Shigella dysenteriae, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus faecalis, and Vibrio cholerae. Tests with plant extracts have shown significant action against Herpes simplex virus type 1 in vitro.
Analgesic: Relieves pain.
Anthelmintic: Expels parasites from the gut.
Antibacterial: Kills bacteria.
Antidiarrhoeal: Provides symptomatic relief for diarrhoea. Also see Astringent.
Antiinflammatory: Reduces inflammation of joints, injuries etc.
Antiseptic: Preventing sepsis, decay or putrefaction, it destroys or arrests the growth of micro-organisms.
Antitussive: Prevents or relieves coughing.
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Cholera: Used in the treatment of cholera - an acute diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with Vibrio cholerae bacteria.
Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.
Malaria: Treats malaria - an acute febrile illness caused by Plasmodium parasites spread to people through the bites of mosquitos.
Parasiticide: Treats external parasites such as ringworm This should perhaps be joined with Parasiticide in
Purgative: A drastic laxative causing a cleansing or watery evacuation of the bowels, usually with a griping pain.
Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.
Stings: Used in the treatment of stings and insect bites.
Vermifuge: Expels and kills internal parasites.
Other
Rating: 4
Other uses rating: High (4/5). Other Uses: The dried leaves, leaf powder, ash and extracts have all been used as a protection from insects in the storage of pulses and cereals. It has been shown that the powdered leaves are effective as a storage protectant for pulses, as they inhibit the hatching of insect larvae. They are not a health threat if removed before consumption.
Hair: Plants used as hair shampoos, tonics, to treat balding etc.
Insecticide: Kills insects.
Parasiticide: Kills external body parasites such as hair lice.
Repellent: Plants that are said to deter but not necessarily kill various mammals, birds, insects etc.
Nitrogen Fixer: Plants that fix nitrogen in the soil
How it is grown
The plant has a wide distribution in the tropics, being found in a wide range of habitats at elevations up to 1,200 metres. It grows well in areas with a mean annual rainfall in the range 950 - 1,400mm spread over 5 - 6 months, as in the Sudano-Guinean zone of West Africa. The plant is especially common on heavy lateritic soils. The plant is a spontaneous weed through much of the tropics and subtropics, and is sometimes found even in Australia. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria; these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby.
Propagating it: Propagation Seed - germinates easily.
Best place to grow:
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 10-12
Growth: Fast
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
The plant is a spontaneous weed through much of the tropics and subtropics, and is sometimes found even in Australia
Its other names
Local names
Chamaecrista nigricans. Other Names: Bara-bubel, Bono, Chila-ja-lo, Heb eddbae, Lali-baba, Macarra-bubel, Massacali, Silatalo.
Synonyms
Cassia nigricans Vahl