Senna siamea
{{Short description|Species of legume}}
{{Speciesbox
|image= Kassod (Senna siamea) flowers W IMG 0540.jpg
|genus = Senna
|species = siamea
|display_parents = 3
|authority = (Lam.) Irwin et Barneby
|synonyms =
- Cassia arayatensis Naves
- Cassia arborea Macfad.
- Cassia florida Vahl
- Cassia gigantea DC.
- Cassia siamea Lam.
- Cassia siamea var. puberula Kurz
- Cassia sumatrana Roxb.
- Cassia sumatrana DC.
- Chamaefistula gigantea G.Don
- Sciacassia siamea (Lam.) Britton & Rose S
- Sciacassia siamea (Lam.) Britton
- Senna sumatrana (DC.) Roxb.
}}
Senna siamea, also known as Siamese cassia,{{PLANTS|id=SESI3|taxon=Senna siamea|accessdate=10 November 2015}} kassod tree, cassod tree and cassia tree,{{Cite web |url=http://www.nanagarden.com/senna_siamea%5E1-11.html |title=Nana Garden |access-date=2011-08-31 |archive-date=2014-07-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710204050/http://nanagarden.com/senna_siamea%5E1-11.html |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web | url=http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/2005/10/gaeng_ki_lek_on.html | title=Gaeng Ki Lek: On the Trail of a Curry from Northern Thailand to Suburban KL (Part 2 of 2) }} is a legume in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It is native to South and Southeast Asia, although its exact origin is unknown.{{Cite web |url=http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea/Products/AFDbases/af/asp/SpeciesInfo.asp?SpID=461 |title=AgroForestryTree Database |access-date=2011-08-31 |archive-date=2012-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117174617/http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea/Products/AFDbases/af/asp/SpeciesInfo.asp?SpID=461 |url-status=dead }}
==Description==
File:Senna siamea leaves and flowers 05.jpg
It is a medium-size, evergreen tree growing up to {{cvt|18|m|-1}} with yellow flowers. Leaves are alternate, pinnately compound, with slender, green-reddish, tinged axis and 6 to 12 pairs of leaflets on short stalks, rounded at both ends.
It is often used as shade tree in cocoa, coffee and tea plantations. In Thailand it is the provincial tree of Chaiyaphum Province and some places in the country are named after it.
Uses
File:Kaeng khilek.jpg made with kassod leaves and flower buds]]
File:Senna siamea.jpg making.]]
This plant has medicinal value and it contains a compound named barakol. The leaves, tender pods and seeds are edible, but they must be previously boiled and the water discarded. They are used in Burmese and also in Thai cuisine where one of the most well-known preparations is kaeng khilek ({{langx|th|แกงขี้เหล็ก}}).
In Burmese tradition, during the full moon day of Tazaungmon, Burmese families pick Siamese cassia buds and prepare it in a salad called mezali phu thoke (မယ်ဇလီဖူးသုပ်) or in a soup.{{Cite news|url=https://www.mmtimes.com/news/merry-marry-months-start-myanmar.html|title=The merry, marry months start in Myanmar|work=The Myanmar Times|access-date=2018-11-02|language=en|archive-date=2020-11-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112195723/https://www.mmtimes.com/news/merry-marry-months-start-myanmar.html|url-status=dead}}
Other uses include as fodder plant, in intercropping systems, windbreaks, and shelter belts.{{cite web|url=http://www.winrock.org/fnrm/factnet/factpub/FACTSH/S_siamea.html |title=Senna siamea |publisher=Winrock International|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926232746/http://www.winrock.org/fnrm/factnet/factpub/FACTSH/S_siamea.html |archive-date=2011-09-26 }}
As a hardwood, it is used for ornamentation on instruments (ukuleles and guitars) and decorative products. In this capacity it is known as pheasantwood or polohala, named for the similarity of the grain to pheasant feathers.{{Cite web|url=http://www.wood-database.com/pheasantwood/|title=Pheasantwood {{!}} the Wood Database - Lumber Identification (Hardwood)}} It is sometimes used in Chinese furniture (known as jichimu) interchangeably with wood from the Ormosia species.{{cite web|url=https://www.chinese-furniture.com/c_furniture/m_jichimu.html|author=Curtis Evarts|title=Chinese Furniture Materials: {{!}} Jichimu (Chicken-wing wood) 鸡翅木|website=chinese-furniture.com}}
File:Sennna siamea tablets for insomnia.webp
Scientific studies have established its medicinal potential, mainly on account of the anxyolitic properties of its main active chemical: barakol.{{cite journal | url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8866982/ | pmid=8866982 | date=1996 | last1=Thongsaard | first1=W. | last2=Deachapunya | first2=C. | last3=Pongsakorn | first3=S. | last4=Boyd | first4=E. A. | last5=Bennett | first5=G. W. | last6=Marsden | first6=C. A. | title=Barakol: A potential anxiolytic extracted from Cassia siamea | journal=Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior | volume=53 | issue=3 | pages=753–758 | doi=10.1016/0091-3057(95)02088-8 }} It is sold in Asian pharmacies, mostly as a sleep aid, but also to treat constipation and as a hair balm.
Vernacular names
- {{langx|my|မယ်ဇလီ}}, mezali
- {{langx|th|ขี้เหล็ก}}, khilek
- {{langx|vi|muồng đen}}
- {{langx|lo|ຕົ້ນຂີ້ເຫຼັກ}}, ton khi heak{{cite web|url=https://www.phakhaolao.la/kb/0000253|title=ຕົ້ນຂີ້ເຫຼັກ / Siamese cassia|website=phakhaolao.la|access-date=2023-12-11|archive-date=2023-12-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211102405/https://www.phakhaolao.la/kb/0000253|url-status=dead}}
- Twi: Nkyedua
- Ewe: Zangara gbe
- Kiswahili : mhoba
- Assamese: Xunaroo
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Gbase/data/pf000378.htm FAO - Senna siamea (Lam.) Irwin & Barneby] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708153516/http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Gbase/data/pf000378.htm |date=2017-07-08 }}
{{WestAfricanPlants|Senna siamea}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q36154}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck