Fabaceae FAMILY

Sesbania macrantha

Edibility

1/5

Medicinal

1/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitShrub

GrowthFast

Sesbania macrantha grows under a variety of climatic conditions from the tropics to the frost-free subtropical regions, and is sometimes grown as an annual where frosts do occur. It can be found cultivated at elevations up to 2,300 metres in E. Africa, however growth rates and yields are lower than at lower elevations. It is found in areas where the mean annual rainfall ranges from 900 - 2,000mm^[1]. Grows wild on a variety of soils^[1]. A fast-growing plant when young. This early rapid growth helps the plant to overcome weed competition better than most multipurpose tree species, thus reducing the amount of weeding required during establishment^[1]. The plant reaches maturity after 12 months, with a mean height of 3.98 metres^[1]. When coppicing, lower cutting heights produce more foliage^[1]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria; these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby^[2].

Propagation

Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing to speed up germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. Cuttings. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Sesbania+macrantha>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

[1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
[2]Nodulation Plants in GRIN Taxonomy — United States Department of Agriculture · http://www.ars-grin.gov/~sbmljw/cgi-bin/taxnodul.pl?language=en ↩︎An online database listing plants that have either positive or negative reports on root and stem nodulation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
[3]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
[4]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
[5]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/