Sesbania sesban, the Egyptian riverhemp,[1] is a species of plant in the legume family, a fast growing species, it has four varieties that are currently recognized.[2][3]

Sesbania sesban
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Sesbania
Species:
S. sesban
Binomial name
Sesbania sesban

Synonyms include:

  • Aeschynomene aegyptiaca (Pers.) Steud.
  • Aeschynomene sesban L.
  • Emerus sesban (L.) Kuntze
  • Sesbania aegyptiaca Poir.

Description

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A perennial shrub or small tree that grows up to 6 m tall sometimes reaching 8 m.[citation needed] It has paripinnately compound leaves with between 6-27 pairs of linear to oblong leaflets per pinnae; the leaves and rachis tend to be pilose. Flowers are yellow in color with brown and purple streaks on the corolla.

Distribution and habitat

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Sesbania sesban occurs widely in tropical East and West Africa, in Southern Africa and in Asia.[4] Commonly found on a variety of soil types including loose sandy soil and clay soil, it grows in areas with annual rainfall of between 500-2000 mm.[3]

Infraspecies

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  • Sesbania sesban var. bicolor (Wight & Arn.) F.W.Andrews
  • Sesbania sesban var. nubica Chiov.
  • Sesbania sesban subsp. punctata (DC.) J.B.Gillett
  • Sesbania sesban subsp. sesban

Uses

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Sesbania sesban is a nitrogen-fixing tree and may be useful in alley cropping. It is also used as a fodder crop and source of fuel wood.[5]

References

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  1. ^ NRCS. "Sesbania sesban". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  3. ^ a b Heering, J.H. (1995). Botanical and agronomic evaluation of a collection of Sesbania sesban and related perennial species (PhD thesis). Wageningen University.
  4. ^ Heering, J. H.; Nokoe, S.; Jemal, M. (1996). "The classification of a Sesbania sesban (sesban) collection. I. Morphological attributes and their taxonomic significance". Tropical Grasslands. 30 (2). ISSN 0049-4763.
  5. ^ Palsaniya, Dana Ram; Kumar, T. Kiran; Chaudhary, Manoj; Choudhary, Mukesh; Prasad, Mahendra; Kumar, Sunil (2023-10-15). "Tillage practices and mulching affect system productivity, profitability and energy use in Sesbania alley based food - fodder systems under rainfed agro-ecosystems of semi-arid tropics". Field Crops Research. 302: 109104. Bibcode:2023FCrRe.30209104P. doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2023.109104. ISSN 0378-4290.

Relevant literature

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  • Ramni Jamnadass, Jean Hanson, Jane Poole, Olivier Hanotte, Tony J. Simons, Ian K. Dawson. High differentiation among populations of the woody legume Sesbania sesban in sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for conservation and cultivation during germplasm introduction into agroforestry systems. Forest Ecology and Management Volume 210, Issues 1–3, 2005, Pages 225–238, ISSN 0378-1127, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2005.02.033.
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