Senna alata

Senna alata

Senna alata ( syn. Cassia alata L. ) is a shrub of the legume family ( Fabaceae ). He is originally from South America, is cultivated as an ornamental and medicinal plant and is now naturalized throughout the tropics.

• 6.1 Notes and references

Description

Vegetative characteristics

Senna alata is a cantilevered, 1-4 ( -5 ) m tall shrub with strong, terete, finely hairy fluff up almost bare branches and alternate, simple paired feathery leaves. The triangular- lanceolate stipules are 6-16 mm long, formed by their wrong ansitz due cause half- stem ears comprehensive and usually stay for a long time. The stalk round, relatively short, 2-4 cm long petiole consists largely of a basal 1-3.5 cm long, pale colored pulvinus. The (15 - ) 30-70 cm long leaves have an upper side flattened and edged, finely downy hairy rachis, which is slightly gnarled and broken at the attachment points of the leaflets. It ends in a 2.5-4.5 mm in length, sheet-like, back downwardly bent and folded appendage. Petiole and rachis have - in contrast to many other species of the genus Senna - no nectar glands on. The leaf blade is made ​​of (5 - ) 7-14 (-20 ) Fiederpaaren assembled, the increase in size towards the leaf tip. The (1 -) 2 (-3 ) mm long stalked, entire, both sides almost bald, underside matt leaflets are oblong- elliptic to broadly verkehrteiförmigen or the lowest sometimes ovate. They are (5 - ) 7-19 cm long and 3-9,5 cm wide. The leaves are rounded at the front and short apiculate, sometimes emarginate to truncate at the base, rounded to almost truncate with a wry, scalene approach.

Generative features

The inflorescences are axillary or terminal, 6.5 to 30 cm long stalked clusters of fluffy haired main axis. The powerful, compact before flowering and later lengthening grapes are 15-60 cm long and 3-4 cm wide. They consist of about 20-40 hermaphrodite flowers. These are stalked 5-11 mm long. Your egg-shaped or oblong, 2-3 cm long and 1-2 cm broad bracts are usually colored orange and hairy fine fluffy. Envelop to the flourishing of tile-like flower buds and fall even from before the full flowering. Bracteoles absent.

The yellow-colored perianth sits at a short cup-shaped base of the flower. The five free, slightly different, each dachziegelig wide sepals are oblong, 10-16 (-20 ) mm long and 6-8 mm wide. You're fine grid annoying and short pubescent to almost glabrous. The five free, slightly unequal, bare petals are ovate - roundish to verkehrteiförmig or spatulate and have a short nail. They are 15-23 mm long and 10-15 mm wide. The petals are bright yellow colored, with distinct, slightly darker nerves. The ten non- intergrown, bare stamens are formed very differently. The three lowest are the greatest. Of these, the central on a 6-7 mm long stamens an approximately 4 mm long, protracted wrong, the basic weak arrow-shaped anthers. The two sides have on a 2-3 (-4 ) mm long stamens a 9.5 to 13 mm long, sickle-shaped curved at the tip of short crooked beaked anthers. Each of its two unequal counters is extended to the base in a pfriemliche tip. The four middle stamens have on an approximately 2 mm long stamens 3-5 mm long a dust bag that is similar to the central lower dust sheet. The lower and middle dust bag open at the top with two pores. The three upper stamens are reduced, with a 1-3 mm long barren dust bag on a 1-2 mm long stamens. The anthers are basifix so attached at its base to the filament. The upper continuous, consisting of a single, curved carpel gynoecium is shorter than the petals. It is mostly closely finely pubescent and contains 44-58 ovules. The 4-5.5 mm long stylus carrying a small scar at the top.

The fruits are ± straight, broad linealische, flattened pods that open delayed. They have a 4-9 mm wide and notched wing on the center of the paper -like black ± bare fruit flaps longitudinally respectively and are thus square. At the two seams are double- keeled. The pods are 10-18 cm long and including the wings up to 2.8 cm wide. They are septate transversely in the interior between the approximately fifty transverse seeds. The seeds are flattened, rhombic, 7-10 mm long and 5-8 mm wide. They have a matte, gefelderte surface.

Senna alata blooms and bears fruit in the dry season, so for example, in Central America from November to April and May, in northern Australia from June to November.

Chromosomes

When Senna alata different chromosome numbers are known. It haploid chromosome sets with n = 12 and n = 14 or diploid with 2n = 24 and 2n = 28 were found.

Distribution and habitat

Senna alata has their original deposits in South America, in the basin of the Orinoco and the Amazon. Since it is widely cultivated for their region of origin also as an ornamental plant and as a medicinal plant, it could become the world establish and naturalized in all tropical and subtropical regions and outside gardens.

The species inhabited primarily cultivated land, but also occurs on riverbanks, in savannenartigem flood plains, in open woods and on dry slopes. The Seehöhenverbreitung is different for Nicaragua 30-120 m are given for Indochina up to 1500 m. Most occurrences are in any case in the tropical lowlands.

Taxonomy and systematics

The species was described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus as Cassia alata in the genus Kassien. The main basis for this was a description of the Hortus Cliffortianus, an earlier work of Linnaeus. In addition, Linnaeus cited older denominations by Charles Plumier and Maria Sibylla Merian. William Roxburgh put the type in 1832 to the genus Senna. The independence of Senna but has not been accepted subsequently. It was not until the early 1980s have helped a spin-off of the genera Senna and Cassia Chamaecrista of the breakthrough, the two American botanist Howard Samuel Irwin and Rupert Charles Barneby. In addition, Senna alata is under the name Herpetic alata (L.) Raf. the type species of its own, but today unrecognized genus Herpetic ( DC.) Raf. Other synonyms are Cassia bracteata Lf, Cassia Herpetic Jacq. and Cassia rumphiana ( DC.) Boii ( = Herpetic rumphiana ( DC.) J.Presl ).

Etymology

The specific epithet alata (Latin winged ) is derived from the Latin ala (wing ) here and refers to the winged legumes this kind Senna The genus name refers to the named Linnaeus Cassia senna Senna alexandrina way that the " Senna " a known laxative, supplies. The name can be probably the Arabic word Sanna ( facilitate ) attributed circumscribing the medical effect of this drug.

Use as a medicinal plant

For Indochina is stated that a decoction of the leaves is used against various skin diseases and in steam baths for debonded. The branches are used in Laos against febrile diseases, and the roots are considered laxative. The previously mentioned uses are also documented for West Africa.

Swell

• Barneby RC 2001: Senna Mill In: Stevens WD, Ulloa Ulloa C., Pool A., Montiel OM (ed.): Flora de Nicaragua. Vol 1: Introducción, gimnospermas y angiospermas ( Acanthaceae - Euphorbiaceae ). ( Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 85). Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, ISBN 0-915279-95-9. - Senna alata - Online
• Genaust H. 1996: Etymological Dictionary of the botanical name of the plant. 3rd edition, Birkhauser Verlag, Basel, ISBN 3-7643-2390-6.
• Larsen K., Larsen SS, Vidal JE 1980: Leguminosae ( Fabaceae ), Caesalpinioideae. In: Flore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viêt -Nam. Fasc. 18 Muséum National d' Histoire Naturelle, Paris, ISBN 2-85654-158-5, 227 pp.
• Randell B. R., Barlow B. A. 1998: Senna. In: Flora of Australia. Vol 12: Mimosaceae ( excl. Acacia ), Caesalpiniaceae. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, ISBN 0 - 643-06298 -X ( hardcover ) ISBN 0-643-06299-8 and ( softcover ), pp. 89-138. - Online
• Woodson R. E., R. W. Schery 1951: Leguminosae. Subfamily Caesalpinioideae ( Caesalpiniaceae of many authors ). In: Flora of Panama. Part V, Fasc. 3 Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 38: 1-94. - Online