Species Wild

Egyptian Riverhemp Sesbania

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Sesbania sesban

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants

Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants

Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants

Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants

Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons

Subclass: Rosidae

Order: Fabales

Family: Fabaceae ⁄ Leguminosae – Pea family

Genus: Sesbania Scop. – riverhemp

Species: Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr. – Egyptian riverhemp

BOTANIC DESCRIPTION

Sesbania sesban is a narrow-crowned, deep-rooting single or multi stemmed shrub or small tree, 1-7 m tall. The trees usually have a main stem but may develop many side branches if widely spaced. The many branches give the tree a shrubby appearance, often tending towards a spreading habit due to its wide branching angle (45-60 deg. Mostly)

Leaves paripinnate, long, narrow; leaflets in many pairs, rounded or oblong, usually asymmetric at the base, often glaucous; stipules minute or absent

Flowers attractive, yellow, red, purplish, variegated or streaked, seldom white, large or small on slender pedicels, solitary or paired in short axillary racemes, usually unpleasantly scented; all petals long clawed, standard orbicular or obovate

Pods pale yellow, linear, usually 10-20 cm long, cylindrical or compressed, rarely oblong; up to 40 seeds are found in a pod; seeds oblong or subquadrate, brown or dark green mottled with black

Two subspecies are recognized within S. sesban, namely ssp. punctata (restricted to northern portions of sub-Saharan Africa) and ssp. sesban

ECOLOGY

Sesbania sesban grows well in the subtropics and is significant in extending the nitrogen-fixing forage trees into cooler, higher elevation regions of the tropics. It has outstanding ability to withstand waterlogging and is ideally suited to seasonally flooded environments. When flooded, it initiates floating, adventitious roots and protects its stems, roots and nodules with spongy, aerenchyma tissue. It is common along streams, swamp banks and moist and inundated bottomlands

Sesbania sesban shows some tolerance to moisture stress and tolerates soil alkalinity and salinity to a considerable degree

BIOPHYSICAL LIMITS

Altitude: 100-2300 m, Mean annual temperature: (10 min.) 18-23 (45 max.) deg. C, Mean annual rainfall: 500-2000 mm

Soil type:

Tolerates seasonal or permanently waterlogged soils as well as saline, acidic and alkaline soils

PRODUCTS

Food:

Sesbania sesban flowers are edible and are included perhaps as a decorative or festive ingredient in foods such as omelettes

Fodder:

The tree has a high percentage of foliage nitrogen and is an excellent supplement to protein-poor roughage in ruminant diets. Ruminants readily eat leaves and young branches. The crude protein content of the foliage is generally greater than 20% and often above 25%. In vitro dry-matter digestibility is 75%. Nylon-bag dry-matter digestibility of dried leaf of S. sesban is 90.7% and nitrogen digestibility is 96.7%. These characteristics, together with the generally low crude fibre content and high phosphorous levels, indicate the potential of the species as a high-quality forage source

When grazed, the brittle tree may break too easily and expose the tree to fungal attack. It has been successfully fed as a sole diet to goats and as a supplement to low-quality forage for sheep

Fuel:

Sesbania sesban is popular for firewood and charcoal because it produces a high woody biomass in a short time, which, although soft, is relatively smokeless, quick kindling and hot burning. The calorific yield for a 3-year-old tree is approximately 4350 kcal/kg

Fibre:

Sesbania sesban is used for making ropes and fishnet and has potential for pulpwood production

Gum or resin:

Sesbania sesban seeds and bark produce gum

Poison:

The saponin, stigmasta-galactopyranoside, which is isolated from the seeds, has glucuronide derivatives of oleanolic acid, which has molluscicidal activity against Biophalaria glabrata, one of the known snail vectors of schistosomiasis. The saponin also shows spermicidal and haemolytic activity. Using Sesbania sesban leaf meal in poultry diets (as 10% of the diet) is fatal to young chicks, and the provision of either cholesterol or sitosterol with the diet significantly improves chick survival

Medicine:

Fresh Sesbania sesban roots and leaves are used to treat scorpion stings, boils and abscesses. The Hausa of Ghana use decoctions of leaves as a drench for cattle to repel tsetse fly. Among the Haya people of Tanzania, it is used to treat sore throat, gonorrhoea, syphilis, spasmodic fits in children and jaundice during pregnancy. The leaves are used in some countries as a tea and are considered to have antibiotic, anthelmintic, antitumour and contraceptive properties. Oil from the seeds is accorded special properties in ayurvedic medicine and is reported to have bactericidal, cardiac depressant and hypoglycaemic actions

SERVICES

Shade or shelter: Sesbania sesban has been used to shade coffee, tea and cocoa. It has also been used as a windbreak for bananas, citrus and coffee

Soil improver:

Sesbania sesban will increase soil nitrogen through symbiotic interaction with bacteria, has the ability to stabilize soil, and in Asia has been used as green manure for rice. Its branches have been used as mulch and leaves as a green manure

Sesbania sesban improves soil fertility in a short-term rotation fallow and is useful in combating striga weed (Striga hermonthica). Some studies indicate that in 1 year a Sesbania sesban fallow can increase maize yields from 2 to 4 t/ha without application of nitrogen fertilizer

Intercropping:

Sesbania sesban is a promising shrub for alley cropping because it is easy to establish, it grows rapidly, coppices readily and provides mulch of high nutrient content (particularly N). In some climates, such as in the highlands of Kenya, it may have a sparse canopy, and weed competition can be a problem. This characteristic makes Sesbania sesban a good intercrop

Boundary or barrier or support:

Suitable for use as live trellises for pepper

TREE MANAGEMENT

One of the major advantages of sesbania over other forage trees and shrubs is its rapid early growth rate, which can be exploited by intercropping it with other slower establishing species for earlier yields. In India, it has been reported to attain a height of 4-5 m in 6 months

Sesbania sesban thrives under repeated cuttings and coppices readily, with many branches arising from the main stem below cutting height. Cutting frequencies are generally 3-4 cuts/annum, but up to 8 cuts are made in some areas. Yields have ranged from 4 to 12 t/ha dry matter per year, depending on location. Cutting height can also influence yield, with cutting heights of 50-76 cm favouring plant survival and productivity

The rhizobium requirements of Sesbania sesban vary. There is a host-strain interaction, and different accessions of Sesbania sesban require different strains of bacteria

GERMPLASM MANAGEMENT

Seed storage behaviour is orthodox. Viability can be maintained for 2 years in open storage at room temperature. There are 85 000 - 100 000 seeds/kg

PESTS AND DISEASES

Sesbania sesban is attacked by nematodes, insects, fungi and viruses. The leaf-eating beetle Mesoplatys ochroptera can completely defoliate Sesbania sesban, leading to mortality.

Caterpillars, Hymenoptera, and stem borers are normally associated with Sesbania sesban. Some potentially destructive root-knot nematodes have been recorded in India as associated with Sesbania sesban

Direct seeding of Sesbania sesban for green manure in agroforestry systems

Seed rate

Depth of sowing seed on direct seeding of Sesbania sesban

Sesbania as a tree has a contribution in mitigating a climatic change by trapping carbon dioxide from atmosphere

It can also be used as agro forestry tree

Shade tree for coffee, tea, and crops

Fire Wood

Fencing Wood

Fodder Plants

Windbreak

Wind Break

Green Manure

Deforestation

Salt Tolerance

Tropical

Agroforestry

Desert Forest Trees

Desert Plants

Flowering Plants

Legume Trees

Weed Control

Soil Improvement

Productive

Multipurpose Tree

Widely Distributed

Tropics

Subtropic

Dry Land

Dry Farming

Sandy Soil

Phytoremediation

Economic Analysis

Farmer Assessment

Farmer-participatory trials

Pigeonpea Sesban

Soilfertility Replenishment

Phytoremediation

Anti-inflammation

Antioxidant Effect

Abortion and Antifertility Agent

Antimicrobial Activity

Firewood Source

Livestock Feed

Pasture Improvement

Mosquito Repellant

Live Support

Schistosoma Control

Climatic Change

Global Warming

Shade or Shelter

Fuel

Fuelwood

Fuel Wood

Nitrogen-fixing

Nitrogen Fixing

Mulch

Mulching

Leguminous Tree

Direct seeding

Relatively Non-labour Intensive

High Adoption Potential

Agro-Industries

Improve Crop Productivity

Perennial

Perennials

Soil Fertility

Nutrient Inputs

Green Revolution

Shrubby Appearance

Fibre

Shrub

Fast Growth Rate

Bees Pollinators

Cultivated

Wild

Tolerates Saline Soils

Tolerates Acidic Soils

Tolerates Alkaline Soils

Sunny Position Requires

Soil Alkalinity

Soil Salinity

Fast-growing

Ropes Making

Nets Making

Horticulture

Fix Atmospheric Nitrogen

Shelter Organic Matter

Deep-rooting

Medicine in which aqueous extract of Sesbania sesban reduced development of diabetic nephropathy in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

The Sesbania sesban is a fast growing plant commonly used as fuel wood and is also used as a feed for ruminant animals

Being a legume, the tree fixes nitrogen and has proved to be popular as a fallow species and as an agro-forestry species

Ziziphus spina-christi

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Scientific Classification:

Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Genus: Ziziphus
Species: Ziziphus spina-christi

Kingdom: Plants, Plantae
Phylum: Flowering plants, Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliids, Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Genus: Ziziphus
Species: Christ's Thorn Jujube, spina-christi (L.) Willd.
Ziziphus spina-christi aucheri
var. aucheri (Boiss.) Qaiser & Nazim.

Division: Angiospermae
Class: Dicotyledoneae
Subclass: Archichlamydeae
Order: Rhamnales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Source: STUDENTS’ FLORA OF EGYPT second edition, by VIVI TÄCKHOLM, D. Sc. (Stockholm) Professor of Systematic Botany, Faculty of Science, Cairo University. Published by Cairo University. Printed by COOPERATIVE PRINTING COMPANY Beirut, 1974.

Botanical (Binomial) name: Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Desf.
Synonyms: Rhamnus spina-christi L.

Latin (Botanical - Species) name: Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Willd.

Family: Rhamnaceae

Common name:
Arabic: Sidr, Nabq, Nabaq, Gabaat, Siddir, Nubak, Nabdag, Nabbak, Nabak
English: Jujube Christ, Christ thorn
French: epine du Christ

Plant description:

RHAMNACEAE A. Juss. Woody plants with simple, stipulate frequently 3-5-nerved leaves and small greenish or yellowish flowers, often in axillary cymes; intra-staminal disc well developed; fruit a drupe or capsule.. Leaves alternate, 3-nerved beneath. ZIZIPHUS Mill. Trees or shrubs with ovate, beneath 3-nerved leaves. Flowers bisexual, 5-fid. Fruit a yellow to brown-red drupe. Tree, leaves over 2.5 cm. long. ZIZIPHUS SPINA-CHRISTI (L.) Willd.: Branches white, glabrous. Leaves glabrous or slightly pubescent beneath. Stipules transformed into spines in wild forms (v. divaricatus Forssk.) unarmed in cultivated forms (v. rectus Forssk.). (Frut.). Also the latter variety frequently naturalized. Fruit edible, of cherry-size.

Source: STUDENTS’ FLORA OF EGYPT second edition, by VIVI TÄCKHOLM, D. Sc. (Stockholm) Professor of Systematic Botany, Faculty of Science, Cairo University. Published by Cairo University. Printed by COOPERATIVE PRINTING COMPANY Beirut, 1974.

Propagation: Fruits (seeds), Trees or shrubs in Upper Egypt.

Origin: Egypt

Zilla spinosa

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Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Brassicaceae

Division: Angiospermae
Class: Dicotyledoneae
Subclass: Archichlamydeae
Order: Papaverales
Family: Cruciferae

Latin (Botanical) name: Zilla spinosa (Turra) Prantl.

Family: Cruciferae, Brassicaceae

Common name: Zilla, Silla, Sillet, Besilla, Basilla, Shagaret el-hommoos, Ommo, Hommoos.

Origin: Egypt

Plant description:

CRUCIFERAE A. Juss. Pod short and broad, oblong-rounded. Pod not or inconspicuously compressed. (For shortly cylindrical pods with seeds in 2 parallel rows, see under Pod long and narrow, genera 4, 9, 10.). Pod globose, ovoid or pear-shaped. Pod beaked. Spiny desert shrub with pink flowers ZILLA Forssk. Spiny desert shrubs with pink or purple flowers. Pod indehiscent, globose or square, with a long subulate spinescent beak.

Pod not cube-shaped under the spiny style with a deep groove surrounded by a corky margin on each of the 4 lateral faces.

ZILLA SPINOSA (Turra) Prantl (= ZILLA MYAGROIDES Forssk.) : Blue-green, dichotomously branched plant with stiff spinescent branches and soon deciduous fleshy leaves. Plant typically 50-60 cm. high with 8-10 mm. broad pods. (Frut.). In rocky and sandy places. – In Upper Egypt an annual form of this species is sometimes met with.

v. microcarpa Dur. & Sch. : 10-20 cm. high, pod smaller.

Source: STUDENTS’ FLORA OF EGYPT second edition, by VIVI TÄCKHOLM, D. Sc. (Stockholm) Professor of Systematic Botany, Faculty of Science, Cairo University. Published by Cairo University. Printed by COOPERATIVE PRINTING COMPANY Beirut, 1974.

Propagation: Fruits (seeds), shrub in Upper Egypt.

Zygophyllum coccineum - A Guide to Medicinal Plants

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Zygophyllum coccineum L.,

Sp. Pl.,ed.1,386 ( 1753 )

Names

Arabic: Rutreyt, Kammun Kermany, Ghassoul, Balbal, Tartir, Bowa.

English: Zygophyllum

Morphological Description:
Low shrub, perennial herb or desert succulent undershrub, up to 75 cm high. Numerous stems, branched, erect, the young branches being green. Leaves 2-foliolate, over 10 mm long, cylindrical, bright green, glabrous, fleshy carried on a fleshy long petiole. Stipules broadly triangular, membranous. Flowers are solitary, axillary, white. Capsule 5-valved, 8-10mm long, with obtuse apex. The leaflets and sometimes the petioles are shed under severe dry conditions to reduce the transpiring surface. The fleshy cortex of the stem is shed under these same conditions.

Geographical Distribution:

Local: Arid zones of Egypt (Eastern and Western Desert and Sinai Peninsule).

Regional: Syria, Palestine and Sudan.

Global: South Africa, West Asia

Ecology:
Zygophyllum coccineum is the most widespread Zygophyllum species in Egypt and grows in diverse habitats and different soil types. The plant is very common in the limestone wadis and plains of the Eastern (Arabian) desert and tolerant of saline soils. It dominates a community of widespread occurrence there.

Part(s) Used:
Fruits and seeds

Collection:
The fruits (seeds) are collected when the plant is in fruiting stage

Preparations:
Infusion, Extract

Use:
Oral

Constituents:
Zygophyllin (28% in leaves, 0.18% in stems and 0.26% in fruits). Quinovic acid (0.36% in leaves, 0.31% in fruits and 0.47% in stems). Flavonoids e.g, kaempfero1-3- rutinoside.

Pharmacological Action and Toxicity:
Aqueous extract of the plant is documented to produce a lowering in blood pressure, and acts as a diuretic and antipyretic, local anesthetic, with anti-histamine activity, stimulation and depression of isolated amphibian heart, relaxation of isolated intestine, contraction of uterus and vasodilation. The extract antagonized acetyl choline action on skeletal muscle, and acted additively to the muscle relaxant effect of d-tubocurarine.

Pharmacopoeia:
Not available

Phytopharmaceutical Products:
Not available

Traditional Medicine and Indigenous Knowledge:
History:
It is a plant of North Africa and Arabia.
Arabs use the aromatic seeds instead of pepper

Traditional Medicinal Uses:
• Rheumatism
• Gout
• Cough
• Asthma
• Hypertension
• Flatulent colic
• Diuretic

Other uses of the plant:
The juice from fresh leaves and stems is known to be used as an abrasive cleanser and as remedy for the treatment of
certain skin diseases.

References:

Batanouny, K.H. and Ezzat, Nadia H. (1971). "Eco-physiological studies on desert plants. I. Autecology of Zygophyllum spscies growing in Egypt". Oecologia ( Berl. ), 7:170-183.

El-Moghazy, M.A (1957). "A comparative study of the common Egyption Zygophyllum species". Ph.D. thesis, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University.

Elgamal, M.H.A., Shaker, K.H., pollmann, K. and Seifert, K.H. (1995). "Triterpenoid saponins from Zygophyllum species". Phytochemistry. 40(4): 233-1236.

Saad, S.F., Saber, A.H. and Scott, P.M (1967). "Pharmacological studies on Zygophyllum coccineum extract" . Bull. Fac.Pharm., Cairo
University 6(1): 245- 251.

Saad, S.F., Saber, A.H. and Scott, P.M. (1967). "Pharmacological studies on Zypophyllin and Quinovic Acid" . Bull Fac . Pharm Cairo Univ, 6(1): 253-263.

Saber, A.H. and El-Moghazi Shoaib, A.M. (1966). j. Pharm.Sci.U.A.R.7:117.

Saber, A.H.and El-Moghazy, M.A. (1960). J.Pharm.Sci.U.A.R. 2.

General References:
Batanouny, K. H., (1999). "Wild Medicinal Plants in Egypt". (With contribution of: E. Aboutabl, M. Shabana & F. Soliman). With support of the Swiss Development Co-operation (SDC). Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, Egypt. The World Conservation Union (IUCN), Switzerland. pp. 187-188.

Boulos, L. (2000). "Flora of Egypt", volume two, pp. 24, printed by Al Hadara Publishing, Cairo, Egypt.

Rizk, A.M and El-Ghazaly, G.A. (1995). "Medicinal and poisonous plants of Qatar", pp.229. Scientfic and Applied Research Center, University of Qatar.

Tackholm, Vivi., (1974). "Student`s Flora of Egypt". 2nd edition, Cairo University, Egypt.

Zygophyllum

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Division: Angiospermae
Class: Dicotyledoneae
Subclass: Archichlamydeae
Order: Geraniales
Family: Zygophyllaceae

Latin (Botanical - Species) name: Zygophyllum coccineum L.

Family: Zygophyllaceae

Common name: Zygophyllum, R’utrit, Ratrayt, Rotreyt

Origin: Egypt

Plant description:

ZYGOPHYLLACEAE R. Br. Stipules not spiny. Fruit unarmed. Leaves simple or 2-3-foliolate, capsule 5-valved. Leaves terete, if flattened, 2-foliolate. ZYGOPHYLLUM L. Usually desert plants with cylindrical or ovoid, rarely flattened fleshy leaves. Flowers white, pinkish or yellow. Stamens 8-10 with 1-2 scale-like appendages at the base of each filament. Capsule 5-valved, angled or winged. Shrubby plants with compound leaves. Leaflets terete. Peduncle as long as or longer than flower and capsule, leaves green glabrous. Capsule + or – cylindrical, wingless. Capsule about 10 mm. long and 5 mm. broad. ZYGOPHYLLUM COCCINEUM L.: Shrub, up to 75 cm. Leaflets 2, bright green, glabrous, cylindrical, at least 10 mm. long. Capsule 8-10 mm. long, apex obtuse. (Frut.)

Source: STUDENTS’ FLORA OF EGYPT second edition, by VIVI TÄCKHOLM, D. Sc. (Stockholm) Professor of Systematic Botany, Faculty of Science, Cairo University. Published by Cairo University. Printed by COOPERATIVE PRINTING COMPANY Beirut, 1974.

Propagation: Fruits (seeds), shrub in Upper Egypt.

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