Entada rheedii
{{Short description|Species of plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Entada rheedii04.jpg
|image_caption = Mature pod in Mozambique
|genus = Entada
|species = rheedii
|authority = Spreng.{{GRIN | access-date=2008-03-10}}
|synonyms =
Adenanthera gogo Blanco
Entada gogo (Blanco) I.M.Johnst.
Entada monostachya DC.
Entada pursaetha DC.
Entada pusaetha DC. [Spelling var.]
Entada rheedei Spreng. [Sp. variant]
Entada rheedii subsp. rheedii
Entada scheffleri Ridl.
Mimosa entada L.http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/ild-32599 The Plant List
}}
Entada rheedii, commonly known as African dream herb or snuff box sea bean,{{cite web | url = http://www.entheology.org/edoto/anmviewer.asp?a=384 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110508210226/http://www.entheology.org/edoto/anmviewer.asp?a=384 | url-status = dead | archive-date = May 8, 2011 | title = Entada rheedii - African Dream Herb | publisher = www.entheology.org }} and as the cacoon vine in Jamaica, is a large woody liana or climber of the Mimosa clade Mimosoideae. The vine can grow as long as {{cvt|120|m}}.{{cite journal| last= Nielsen | first= I.C. | date= 1992 | title= Mimosaceae (Leguminosae - Mimosoideae )| journal= Flora Malesiana | volume= 11 | issue= 1 | page= 180}} Their seeds have a thick and durable seed coat which allows them to survive lengthy periods of immersion in seawater. These seeds come in a pod which can be up to 6.5 feet (two meters) in length.{{ cite journal | last= Neilsen | first= I.C. | date= 1992 | title= Leguminosae - Mimosoideae | journal= Flora Malesiana |volume= 11 | issue= 1 | page=180 }}
Naming
Though its scientific name was first published as E. rheedii, it is often written as Entada rheedei, honouring Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Draakestein (1637–1691).The International Plant Names Index (2004). [http://www.ipni.org/ipni/idPlantNameSearch.do?id=493874-1&back_page=%2Fipni%2FeditSimplePlantNameSearch.do%3Ffind_wholeName%3DEntada%2Brheedei%26output_format%3Dnormal Entada rheedei]. Accessed 5 September 2007.
=Subspecies=
- Entada rheedii rheedii
- Entada rheedii sinohimalensis (Grierson & D.G.Long) Panigrahi
Traditional use
The species is employed in African traditional medicine to induce vivid dreams, said to enable communication with the spirit world. The inner meat of the seed would be either consumed directly, or the meat would be chopped, dried, mixed with other herbs like tobacco and smoked just before sleep to induce the desired dreams.
The plant is also used as a topical ointment against jaundice, toothache, ulcers and to treat muscular-skeletal problems.{{cite journal|pmc=2823594 | pmid=20102631 | doi=10.1186/1746-4269-6-3 | volume=6 | title=Indigenous use and bio-efficacy of medicinal plants in the Rasuwa District, Central Nepal | year=2010 | journal=J Ethnobiol Ethnomed | pages=3| last1=Uprety | first1=Yadav | last2=Asselin | first2=Hugo | last3=Boon | first3=Emmanuel K. | last4=Yadav | first4=Saroj | last5=Shrestha | first5=Krishna K. | doi-access=free }} The seeds are sought after as pieces of jewelry and as good-luck charms.
The 1889 book The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that Entada Scandens has the common names included "Queensland Bean". Indigenous Australians of the Cleveland Bay area referred to the plant as "Barbaddah" and that "These large beans are ... put into the stone oven and heated in the same way and for the same time as those of Avicennia tomentosa (q.v.); they are then pounded fine and put into a dilly-bag, and left for ten or twelve hours in water, then they are fit for use." (Murrell's testimony). The natives of India also eat them after roasting and soaking in water."{{cite book | author=J. H. Maiden | year=1889 | title=The useful native plants of Australia : Including Tasmania | publisher= Turner and Henderson, Sydney | url=https://primo-slnsw.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=SLNSW_ALMA21105097830002626&context=L&vid=SLNSW&search_scope=EEA&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US}}
Distribution and habitat
Its seeds are found on east and southern African beaches, having grown on river and estuary banks and in swamp forest. As a result of its ready dispersal by sea, Entada rheedii is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas (excluding the Americas): tropical Africa, South Africa, tropical Asia and Queensland.
Gallery
File:Entada rheedii05.jpg|Twisted stem
File:Entada rheedii06.jpg|Foliage
File:Entada rheedii07.jpg|Flower spike
File:Entada rheedii seeds picked up on a South African beach at Mapelane.jpg |Seeds
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q5380081}}
Category:Flora of tropical Asia
Category:Decorative fruits and seeds