Senna Siamea 20/100/500 Seeds, Cassia Kassod, Medicinal Thailand Shower Evergreen Tree

The Plant Attraction

$3.50 

Senna Siamea
Also known as: Kassod Tree, Cassod Tree and (incorrectly) as Cassia tree, Thailand Shower Tree.

A medium-size, evergreen tree growing up to 18 m and often planted as an ornamental for its abundant yellow flowers. It is often used as a shade tree in cocoa, coffee and tea plantations. It is also planted as a dense windbreak and shelter belt. When used as a hedgerow, it effectively increases topsoil infiltration, reducing runoff and combating soil erosion. Used extensively for rehabilitation of degraded land.

In Thailand, young fruits, leaves, tender pods and seeds are eaten as a vegetable. During preparation the cooking liquid is replaced 3 times to remove toxins. In Sri Lanka, the flowers and young fruits are used in curries.

Widely grown for fodder, but the trees can be browsed. The alkaloids and other secondary plant compounds in the leaves, flowers and pods are highly toxic to non-ruminants, such as pigs and poultry, and these animals should be kept away from plantations. Sawdust may cause some irritation to the nose, throat and eyes.
The dense, dark colored wood makes good fuel, although it produces some smoke when burning. The wood was formerly preferred for locomotive engines. Its charcoal is also of excellent quality. The wood is reported to be rare, and not commonly available. It is used in musical instruments (ukeleles and guitars), turned objects, carvings, and other small specialty wood items.

This tree has medicinal value and it contains a compound named Barakol. It has sedative and anxiolytic effects, but use for these purposes is now discouraged due to hepatotoxicity. In traditional medicine, the fruit is used to charm away intestinal worms and to prevent convulsions in children. The heartwood is said to be a laxative, and in Cambodia a decoction is used against scabies.

It requires full sun with good soil drainage. It is susceptible to cold and frost no matter what zone your in, so it will need to be potted or protected under those conditions.
Native to Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Choose from packs of 20, 100, and 500 seeds.