Annual herb, to 60 cm, glandular-hairy. Leaves: petiole to 4 cm, without a gland; leaves with 2 pairs of opposite leaflets with a gland on the rhachis between each pair. Inflorescences terminal. Petals 5-6 mm, yellow, orange, salmon or pinkish-red with reddish-brown veins. Stamens 5, subequal; filaments straight. Pod 3-6 cm, flat.

Chamaecrista absus (L.) H.S. Irwin & Barneby:
Australia (Oceania)
Bolivia (South America)
Brazil (South America)
Costa Rica (Mesoamerica)
Ecuador (South America)
Guatemala (Mesoamerica)
Honduras (Mesoamerica)
Mexico (Mesoamerica)
Peru (South America)
Papua New Guinea (Asia)
Philippines (Asia)
Malaysia (Asia)
Paraguay (South America)
Sri Lanka (Asia)
United States (North America)
Venezuela (South America)
Caribbean (Caribbean)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Cassia absus L.:
Australia (Oceania)
Bolivia (South America)
Brazil (South America)
Costa Rica (Mesoamerica)
Ecuador (South America)
Egypt (Africa & Madagascar)
Guatemala (Mesoamerica)
Honduras (Mesoamerica)
India (Asia)
Mexico (Mesoamerica)
Madagascar (Africa & Madagascar)
Peru (South America)
Papua New Guinea (Asia)
Malaysia (Asia)
Paraguay (South America)
Sri Lanka (Asia)
United States (North America)
Venezuela (South America)
Caribbean (Caribbean)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Widespread in the Old Wordl tropics.

United States

Origin: Exotic

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

Distribution: W. Pakistan (N.W.F. Province, Punjab); everywhere in tropics of the world.

Annual, Herbs, Taproot present, Nodules present, Stems erect or ascending, Stems less than 1 m tall, Plants gland-dotted or with gland-tipped hairs, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs sparsely to densely hairy, Stem hairs hispid to villous, Leaves alternate, Leaves petiolate, Extrafloral nectary glands on petiole, Stipules conspicuous, Stipules setiform, subulate or acicular, Stipules persistent, Stipules free, Leaves compound, Leaves even pinnate, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets opposite, Leaflets 4, Leaves viscid, sticky, Leaves glabrous or nearly so, Flowers in axillary clusters or few-floweredracemes, 2-6 flowers, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence axillary, Bracts very small, absent or caducous, Bracteoles present, Flowers actinomorphic or somewhat irregular, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx hairy, Petals separate, Petals clawed, Petals orange or yellow, Petals bicolored or with red, purple or yellow streaks or spots, Fertile stamens 5, Fertile stamens 2-3, Stamens heteromorphic, gra ded in size, Stamens completely free, separate, Filaments hairy, villous, Anthers opening by basal or terminal pores or slits, Style terete, Reduced cleistogamous flowers produced, Fruit a legume, Fruit unilocular, Fruit freely dehiscent, Fruit elongate, straight, Fruit oblong or ellipsoidal, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit internally septate between the seeds, Fruit compressed between seeds, Fruit explosively or elastically dehiscent, Valves twisting or coiling after dehiscence, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit hairy, Fruit 3-10 seeded, Seeds subquadrate, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.

A herb or undershrub, 10-60 cm tall, erect, widely branching, clothed with viscous glandular hairs. Stipules 4 mm long, linear, persistent, viscous hairy, petiole 1.9-4 cm long, rachis 5-13 mm long. Leaflets in two pairs, broadly elliptic to obovate, unequal sided, 2-2.8 (-3.5) cm long and 10-18 (-25) mm broad, very puberulous or pubescent on both the surfaces, top rounded to blunt, base rounded or cuneate, petiolules 1 mm long, gland present between the pairs, .5 mm long, ligulate-acute, viscid-hairy. Racemes terminal or leaf opposed, c. 4-12 cm long, ± sessile. Bracts ovate, c. 2 mm long, viscous hairy. Bracteole 1, about the middle of each pedicel, c. 1 mm long, viscid hairy. Pedicel c. 3-4 mm long, rough hairy. Calyx 5, 4 mm long, viscous hairy, imbricate. Petals broadly obovate, 5-7 mm long, claw 1-3 mm long, glabrous. Stamens 5, fertile, staminodes absent. Disc straight, with 1-2 mm long bristles. Ovary densely strigose, sessile, c. 7-ovulate, style gla¬brous, 2 mm long, stigma shell-shaped, incurved. Pods flat, coarsely hairy, thin valved, dehiscent, strap shaped, 4 cm long, 8 mm wide, short beaked; stipe 5 mm long. Seeds 4-8, black, glossy, subovate.

Common

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable

Rounded Global Status Rank: GNR - Not Yet Ranked

Chaksine, extracted from this plant, is reputed to have an action on central and peripheral nervous system. Seeds are astringent and strengthen the sight when used as collyrium. Powdered seeds are used in ophthalmia and conjunctivitis. It is also used as cathartic, and in cases of skin infection.