Cassia abbreviata

Cassia abbreviata ( Afrikaans: " Sjambok pod ," engl. " Long-tail cassia " ) is a plant of the genus Kassien ( Cassia ).

Description

Cassia abbreviata forms deciduous trees or shrubs that can reach heights of growth of up to 7 meters and often form an umbrella-shaped crown on a straight trunk. The composite of five to twenty pairs of leaves pinnate leaves are young bright green, later dark, slightly pendulous and are shed in the dry season.

The flowers are in terminal racemose inflorescences. The sweet-scented flowers appear from August to October. The five petals are deep yellow.

The green, round, tubular legumes reach a length of up to 1 meter and color at maturity (which is partly just before the next flowering) dark brown. The legumes are segmented on the inside and contain black and flat seeds in a brown-green flesh.

Distribution and subspecies

The home of Cassia abbreviata located south and east of the tropical and subtropical Africa - but it is now also available in Mauritius and Papua New Guinea.

Abbreviata of cassia are differentiated into three subspecies:

  • Cassia abbreviata Oliv. subsp. abbreviata: Distribution: Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Cassia abbreviata subsp. beareana ( Holmes) Brenan ( syn: Cassia beareana Holmes): Distribution: Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania and Mauritius and Papua New Guinea
  • Cassia abbreviata subsp. kassneri ( Baker f ) Brenan ( syn: Cassia kassneri Baker f ): Distribution: Kenya and Tanzania

The subspecies were previously managed as separate species. The range of the three subspecies overlaps strongly, also these are difficult to distinguish from each other to some extent - so be subsp C. a. beareana and C. a subsp. abbreviata distinguished by the hairs on the underside of leaves.

Cassia abbreviata subsp. abbreviata tends in their natural range for hybridization with Cassia burttii Baker f ( to Cassia abbreviata subsp. abbreviata × burttii )

In South Africa, Cassia abbreviata the only naturally -native species of the genus Kassien ( Cassia ).

Use

Cassia abbreviata is planted as an ornamental plant in gardens.

Different plant parts (especially roots and bark) are used extensively in traditional African medicine for the treatment of eg Schistosomiasis, blackwater fever, headache, toothache, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, and used as abrasive material - root and bark extracts are next used as an aphrodisiac.

Others

The Afrikaans name " Sjambok pod" is derived from the Afrikaans ( derived from Malay ) term for a short whip - as an indication of the long pulses - from.

Swell

  • Pitta Joffe: Creative gardening with indigenous plants: A South African guide, 2001
  • Fanie Venter & Julye -Ann Venter: Making the Most of Indigenous Trees, 2000
  • Braam Van Wyk & Piet van Wyk: Field guide to trees of Southern Africa, 1997
  • Information about Cassia abbreviata ( English ) at: Flora of Zimbabwe, Plantzafrica, Plant Kingdom.
Daniel Oliver
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