Downy Cassia
Cassia tomentosa
Family: Fabaceae
What it is like
A shrub 3-4 m tall. It has velvety yellow hairs all over the plant. The leaflets are in 4-9 pairs. They are oblong and 1-4 cm long by 1 cm wide. They are rounded with a sharp point at the top end. They are more hairy underneath. The leaf stalk does not have glands. The leaf axis has glands between some or all of the pairs of leaflets. The flower cluster is branched with 2- flowered stalks. The petals are bright yellow. These are 1-1.3 cm long. The fruit are pods which are 8-14 cm long and round or somewhat flattened. They are 0.8-1.5 cm wide. The pods have partitions along their length and the whole pod drops without splitting open to shed the seeds.
There are 100 Cassia species. This group has been revised to a smaller more consistent group. Also as Caesalpinaceae.
Where it is found
A tropical plant. It grows in Papua New Guinea between 1950 and 2670 m altitude. It will grow in cooler areas of Australia.
Countries/locations it is found in
Asia, Australia, Central America, Mexico, Myanmar, North America, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Peru, SE Asia, South America
How it is used for food
The flowers are boiled and eaten.
It is not known if they are used for food in Papua New Guinea.
Edible parts
Leaves, flowers
How it is grown
Its other names
Local names
Kazazaw-bok, Mutuy