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Indian Senna

Botanical Name(s): Cassia Augustifolia
Family Name: Caesalpinaceae
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Tribe: Cassieae
Genus: Cassia
Species: Angustifolia
Popular Name(s): Tinnervelly Senna, Cassia Senna, Locust Plant, Rajavriksha, Fan xia ye
Parts Used: Pods, stems, leaves
Habitat: Cultivated in dry lands of Southern & Western India, and indigenous to Arabia.

Description
A small erect shrub, Indian senna attains a height of about 2 to 3 feet. Its stem is pale green, smooth and erect. The spread out branches possess around 4 to 5 pairs of leaves. These leaves are pale yellowish-green in color, elongated spear shaped with pointed apex, about 1 to 2-inch in length and about 0.2 to 0.3-inch in breadth. The plantar surface is shiny green and dorsal surface is yellowish green. The plant has small yellow flowers. The brown pod contains 5 to 7 seeds that are dark brown in color.

Indian senna is native to India, Arab and tropical African countries. It is cultivated in India, Pakistan, Egypt and Sudan. In India, it is found throughout the year in South, mainly the districts of Tinnevelly, Madurai, Tiruchirapally and Mysore. It is commonly known as Indian Senna in English, Sanaya and Hindisana in Hindi, Swarn Patri in Sanskrit, Nat ki Sana and Sonamukhi in Gujarati, Nilavaka and Chinnukki in Malayalam, Nelavrika and Sonamukhi in Kannada and Nilapponnai in Tamil.

Plant Chemicals
(+)- flavenol (isorhamnetin, kaempfeol), anrathquinone (rhein, emodin), sennoside A, sennoside B, menitol, sodium potassium tartarte, salisilic acid, crisophenic acid, volatile oils, resins, calcium oxalate.

Uses & Benefits of Indian Senna
Caution