Sensitive Senna, Japanese Tea bush, Five-leaved Cassia
Chamaecrista mimosoides

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A herb or small shrub. It can grow each year from seed or keep growing from year to year. It grows to 1 m high. The stem are wiry and come from a woody rootstock. It is a very variable plant. The leaves are 3-8 cm long and are made up of 20-80 pairs of small leaflets. These are 0.5 cm long by 0.1 cm wide. They are very narrow, thin and crowded. The leaf stalk has a round gland near the top. They have sharp points. They clasp one another along the stalk. They are sensitive to touch. The flowers are about 2 cm across. They occur either on their own or as 2-3 together. They occur in the axils of upper leaves. They are bright yellow. The fruit are straight narrow pods. The pods are 3-4 cm long and 0.5 cm across. They are flattened. There are about 20-25 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 upland savannah and bushland. It is often along rivers and ditches. In Ethiopia it grows between 1,000 and 2,800 metres altitude. In Papua New Guinea it grows between 60 and 1800 m altitude. It grows in grassland and can grow in standing water. It grows from sea level to 1,750 m above sea level. It is often in dry sandy soil. It can grow in arid places.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Asia, Australia, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Central Africa, China, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Laos, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sahel, SE Asia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Vietnam, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The young leaves are used as tea. The shoots and young leaves are cooked and used as a vegetable. The young tender pods are boiled and eaten. The fully ripe seeds are boiled.

It is not known if they are used in Papua New Guinea.

Edible parts

Leaves - tea, pods, leaves, seeds

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed.

They grow quickly. Plants can be short lived.

Its other names

Local names

Ajuwajuwa, Amala jhar, Cila-canto-uenrao, Dinding, Fish-bone cassia, Imbubu, Jewer, Jirhul, Kedingding, Lajari, Makam-bia, Merendim, Merendinlole-faro, Muong trinhnu, Netendim, Sendjoel, Tequeli-toquedi, Umbonisela, Umnyana, Unobothungwana

Synonyms

Cassia angustissima Lamarck; Cassia mimosoides L.; Cassia sensitiva Roxb.; Cassia dimidiata Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don; Cassia myriophylla Wallich; Cassia telfairiana Wallich; Cassia wallichiana DC.; Senna sensitiva Roxb.; Senna tenella Roxb.;