Prickly Sesban
Sesbania bispinosa
Family: Fabaceae
What it is like
Sesbania bispinosa, also known as Prickly Seban, is an annual small shrub native to Asia and North Africa. Growing about 1-2 m tall, some up to 7 m, it has fibrous stems, long leaves, and purple-spotted yellow flowers. It can either be branched and spreading or tall and straight. It is vigorous and has great weed potential especially in rice paddy fields. The flowers are eaten as vegetables. Mature seeds can also be cooked. When mixed with flour, the seeds are used to treat ringworm and other skin diseases and worms. Meanwhile, leaves and flowers are used in the treatment of inflammations, bacterial infections, and tumors. Further, the plant has other great uses such as as green manure and fodder, industrial hemp, natural gum, and firewood.
Sesbania bispinosa is a ANNUAL/BIENNIAL growing to 2 m (6ft) by 1 m (3ft 3in) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Bees. The plant is self-fertile. It can fix Nitrogen. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid, very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.
Height (m): 2
Where it is found
Marshes, ditches, river margins; also a weed in cultivations on alluvial land, especially in rice fields; often in saline areas; flood-plains, seasonally inundated depressions, sandbanks of brackish lagoons; occasionally in open miombo woodland.
Eastern tropical Africa; Afghanistan, Iran, Indian subcontinent, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos.
Conservation Status: Status: Least Concern
Countries/locations it is found in
Afghanistan; Bangladesh; Cambodia; India; Kenya; Mozambique; Myanmar; Nepal; Somalia; Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; Viet Nam; Zimbabwe, Africa, Angola, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Botswana, Burma, Cape Verde, Central Africa, China, Congo, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, Fiji, Ghana, Guyana, Haiti, Indochina, Iraq, Jamaica, Laos, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Namibia, Oman, Pacific, Pakistan, Philippines, Puerto Rico, SE Asia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Vietnam, Virgin Islands, West Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe,
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Mature seeds - cooked. Mainly used in times of famine.
Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.
Gum: can be chewed as a chewing gum or can often be used as a sweetener or thickening agent in foods.
Medicine
Rating: 2
The leaves and flowers are astringent. They are used in he treatment of inflammations, bacterial infections and tumours. They are prepared as poultices for external use or taken as a decoction for internal ailments. The seed, mixed with flour, is used to treat ringworm and other skin diseases and worms.
Antibacterial: Kills bacteria.
Antiinflammatory: Reduces inflammation of joints, injuries etc.
Antitumor: Preventing, or effective against, tumors, it is used in the treatment of cancer. Probably synonymous with Cytotoxic.
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Parasiticide: Treats external parasites such as ringworm This should perhaps be joined with Parasiticide in
Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.
Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.
Other
Rating: 4
Agroforestry Uses: The plant fixes atmospheric nitrogen and is capable of growing in soils where few or no other crops can grow, such as on alkaline or saline soils of low fertility and poor texture. It has a remarkable sustaining quality on such soils and also improves soil permeability. The leftover stalks, roots and fallen leaves enrich the soil still further by adding organic matter. It is used as a temporary shade, windbreak or as a hedge. An important green manure crop - rice yields, after a green manure crop was ploughed in 60 - 70 days after planting, are equal to those obtained with the application of about 80 kg N/ha of chemical fertilizer. Other Uses A fibre, known as 'Dundee Fibre', is obtained from the stem. It is used for making sails, nets etc. The fibre is said to be very useful and durable when used in water-related activities. In durability and strength, it is reputed to be even superior to jute fibre (from Corchorus spp). The stems can also be a good source of pulp and paper. The seed has been found to be a potential source of cheap galactomannan gum, as the plant can be cultivated on substandard soils without extra care or investment. S. Bispinosa yields light, small-sized firewood. When fully grown and dried, it provides good fuel with a calorific value of 4281 kcal/kg.
Fertilizer: Provides a concentrated solid plant food.
Fibre: Used for making cloth, rope, paper etc.
Fuel: Usually wood, plant materials that have been mentioned as being a good fuel.
Green manure: Fast-growing plants that can be used to increase the fertility of the soil.
Gum: Gums have a wide range of uses, especially as stabilizers, emulsifiers, thickening agents, adhesives etc.
Hedge: Plants that can be grown as hedges.
Mulch: Used for covering the ground to conserve the nutrients in the soil.
Paper: Related to the entry for Fibre, these plants have been specifically mentioned for paper making.
Parasiticide: Kills external body parasites such as hair lice.
Shelterbelt: Wind resistant plants than can be grown to provide shelter in the garden etc.
Soil conditioner: Plants grown to improve the structure of the soil. See also Green manures.
Soil reclamation: Plants that can be grown in such circumstances an the spoil tips of mines in order to restore fertility.
String: Plants that can be used for string or can be easily made into a string. See also Fibre. Plants for ropes may be included.
Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.
Hedge: Hedge
Nitrogen Fixer: Plants that fix nitrogen in the soil
How it is grown
A plant of subtropical to tropical areas, where it is found at elevations up to 1,200 metres. It grows best in areas where the mean annual temperature falls within the range 18 - 30°c, though it can tolerate 10 - 34°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall of 700 - 1,200mm, but tolerates 500 - 2,900mm. Prefers a sunny position. Succeeds in heavy soils. Grows well under both water-logged or non-irrigated conditions. The plant is very tolerant of soil types, tolerating a pH ranging from 4.3 right up to 10. The plant can become a weed in rice paddy fields. A very fast growing plant, it competes well with weeds and may even suppress growth of Imperata cylindrica on sites where moisture is adequate. A green manure crop can be produced in 2 - 3 months from seed, and a fuel wood or seed crop in 5 - 6 months. Seed yields may be 600 - 1000 kg/ha, f. If used as a green manure crop for rice, the plant should be ploughed in just before the rice is planted out. Delaying the rice planting may lower its response to the green manure. The leaves of sesbania follow the direction of sunlight and fold at night.
Propagating it: Seed - no pre-treatment is required. The plants can easily be established by direct seeding. The seed has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing to speed up germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. Seed storage behaviour is orthodox; a germination rate of 24% has been recorded following 41 years of open storage at room temperature.
Best place to grow:
Habit: Annual/Biennial
Hardiness: 10-12
Growth: Fast
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist, wet
Things to keep in mind
A very fast growing plant, it competes well with weeds and may even suppress growth of Imperata cylindrica on sites where moisture is adequate.
Its other names
Local names
Dhencha, Jananti, Jantar, Jayanti, Nardoo, Sevri, canicha, chinchani, danchi, danchi fibre, dhaincha, dhanicha, dhunsha, ettejangaa, ikad, ikkada, itka?a (root), itka?a(stem), jantar, jhanjhan, kitamu, mudchembai, mullu jinangi, nirchembai, raanshevari, sasee ikad, tentua, utka?a, vanajayanti.
Synonyms
Aeschynomene aculeata Schreb. Aeschynomene bispinosa Jacq. Coronilla aculeata Willd. Sesban aculeata