Characteristics:
Habit: It is a shrub.
Root: The root penetrates deep into the soil and holds the plant in place even if the soil is poor.
Stem: Stem is smooth and reddish brown in colour.
Leaves: The compound leaves are oval.
Flower: It flowers through the year and has bright yellow flowers. The flowers are upright, appearing at the end of a twig.
Fruit: The fruit pod is long, it starts out as green and turns brown when ready to spread the seeds.
Seed: The seeds are small, flat and warped discs. Each pod has less than 25 seeds.
Pollinators: Insects and sun birds
Root parasite/ bacteria/ microorganism:
Being a leguminous plant, it helps fix Nitrogen in the soil with the help of a bacteria that attach itself to the roots.
Visiting Insects: Bees and butterflies. The caterpillars of emigrating butterflies feed on this plant
Visiting birds: Sun bird
Visiting mammals: Cattle do not eat it
Seed dispersal: The seeds use mechanical dispersal methods or barochory, or take help of gravity for seed dispersal. It self-propagates itself. The seeds disperse from the pods and germinate on sites with favourable conditions. The ripe dry fruits burst and scatters the seeds.
Where they grow: It grows in India and is a hardy perennial. It can grow in a wide range of climates and tolerates poor soils as well. It is a leguminous plant, thus adds to the fertility of the soil. It is found from the coastal plains up to 1000 m on the hill slopes.
Uses:
Medicinal:
It is most effective in cases of diabetes
It is quite effective in cases of conjunctivitis. It helps in skin diseases and in cases of severe dry skin
It is less effective when suffering from acid reflux but can be tried.
It contains chemicals like Beta Pinene, Limonene, Terpineol, Tannins, Bisabolene, Citral and Turpenoids.
The parts used are: the roots, the bark, the leaves, the gum, the flowers and the seeds.
Agroforestry: NA
Other uses: A black dye is obtained from the bark of Senna auriculata.
A fiber is obtained from the inner bark.
The wood is sometimes used to make handles for small tools.
