Senna tora

Senna tora
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Caesalpinioideae
Tribe:	Cassieae
Subtribe:	Cassiinae
Genus:	Senna
Species:	S. tora
Binomial name
	Senna tora; (L.) Roxb.
Synonyms
	Numerous, see text

This page is about the Cassia tora described by Linnaeus. Later authors usually applied the taxon to Senna obtusifolia.

Senna tora (originally described by Linné as Cassia tora) is a legume in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. Its name has been derived from Sinhala language, in which it is called Tora (තෝර). In Sri Lanka it is easily found in many places. It grows wild in most of the tropics and is considered a weed in many places; its native range is not well known but probably South Asia. It is often confused with Chinese senna or sicklepod, Senna obtusifolia. If it is given a distinct common name at all, it is called sickle wild sensitive-plant^[1] or sickle senna.^[2]

Use

This herb is used in Ayurveda for treatment of swellings.^{[citation needed]} In some parts of Sri Lanka, people add its flowers in food.

Synonyms

The taxonomic history of this plant is extremely confused, even by the standards of Senna and Cassia. S. tora and S. obtusifolia were for long and are often still held to be—and may eventually be verified as—a single species. Hence, taxa referring to either species were indiscriminately applied to both.^[3]

Cassia boreensis Miq.
Cassia borneensis Miq.
Cassia gallinaria Collad.
Cassia numilis Collad.

Apparently a misprint for Cassia humilis, which would have been applied to this species in error as it is properly a synonym of Senna obtusifolia and Chamaecrista kunthiana, depending on the author.

Cassia tora L.

As discussed above, the Cassia tora of other authors refers to Senna obtusifolia

Cassia tora L. var. borneensis (Miq.) Miq.

Cassia tora L. var. b, var. humilis, and var. obtusifolia all refer to Senna obtusifolia

Emelista tora Britton & Rose

Habitat

The seeds can be found in forest and tribal area of India, Sri Lanka, China and other Asian countries.

Footnotes

^ NatureServe (2007)
^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Senna tora". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
^ ILDIS (2005)

References

International Legume Database & Information Service (ILDIS) (2005): Senna tora (L.) Roxb.. Version 10.01, November 2005. Retrieved 2007-DEC-20.
NatureServe (2007): Senna tora (L.) Roxb. species factsheet. Version 6.3, 2007-OCT-29. Retrieved 2007-DEC-20.

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[1] NatureServe (2007)

[2] USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Senna tora". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 10 November 2015.

[3] ILDIS (2005)

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