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12(1): Medicinal and poisonous plants 1

Senna tora (L.) Roxb.

This article should be read together with the article on the genus: Senna in the Handbook volume indicated above in this database.

Fl. ind., ed. 2, 2: 340 (1832).

Cassia tora L. (1753), Cassia borneensis Miq. (1850).

Foetid cassia, panicled milkwort (En). Casse fétide (Fr). Indonesia: gelenggang kecil, ketepeng kecil (Malay), katepengleutik (Sundanese). Malaysia: gelenggang kechil, gelenggang padang. Philippines: katanda, balatong-aso (Tagalog). Cambodia: d[aa]ng'hët khmaoch ni. Laos: nha leung meum, nha lap mun. Thailand: chum het tai, chum het lek (central), lapmuen noi (northern). Vietnam: th[ar]o quy[ees]t minh, mu[oof]ng h[oo]i, mu[oof]ng ng[ur].

The origin of Senna tora is unknown, but nowadays it is only found in the Old World tropics.

A decoction of the leaves may be used as a purgative, vermifuge or to treat cough. The leaves and seeds are used in the treatment of ringworm and scabies, as a diuretic and an antipyretic. In Indonesia and the Philippines, pounded leaves are smeared on the head of restless children. In Vietnam, seeds are used as a laxative, and roasted seeds are employed to treat insomnia, hypertension and ophthalmia. In India, pounded seeds are used to treat itching. In Chinese medicine, Senna tora is used to improve vision. Cattle do not eat the green plant, but do eat silaged plants and dry pods.

A foetid smelling herb or undershrub, up to 1 m tall, almost glabrous, with a stout taproot; leaves with 3 pairs of leaflets, petiole 1-4 cm long, rachis 2-3 cm long, with a subulate, 2 mm long gland between the two lowest pairs of leaflets, leaflets obovate, 2-5 cm x 1.5-2.5 cm, upper leaflets largest, thin, base cuneate to rounded, apex rounded; inflorescence a short axillary raceme, 1-2(-3)-flowered; flowers with ovate sepals, 5 mm x 2-4 mm, petals obovate, unequal, up to 10 mm x 6 mm, yellow, stamens 7, almost equal, filaments 1.5-2 mm long, 3 larger anthers, 4 smaller ones 1.5-2.5 mm long, staminodes absent, ovary densely pubescent, style glabrous, stigma truncate; fruit linear, terete, 10-15 cm x 0.5 cm; seeds 20-30 per pod, rhomboidal, 5 mm x 3 mm, glossy, with an areole (1.5-2 mm wide) covering part of the seed surface. Senna tora is common throughout South-East Asia in anthropogenic habitats at lower altitudes. It is reported to be an important weed in pastures and cropped fields in South-East Asia, partly because of its high seed production.

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Anny Victor Toruan-Purba

Toruan-Purba, A.V., 1999. Senna tora (L.) Roxb.. In: de Padua, L.S., Bunyapraphatsara, N. and Lemmens, R.H.M.J. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(1): Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea