Cassia angolensis (PROTA)

Plant Resources of Tropical Africa Introduction

List of species

General importance
Geographic coverage Africa
Geographic coverage World
Medicinal
Timber
Fuel
Ornamental

Cassia angolensis Welw. ex Hiern

Protologue: Cat. afr. pl. 1: 291 (1896).

Family: Caesalpiniaceae (Leguminosae - Caesalpinioideae)

Vernacular names

• Mkundekunde (Sw).

Origin and geographic distribution

Cassia angolensis occurs naturally in DR Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Angola and Mozambique. In South Africa it is planted as an ornamental.

Uses

In Tanzania a root decoction of Cassia angolensis is drunk as a remedy for venereal diseases, and the fresh leaves are eaten as a cough remedy. The wood is used as firewood, as a source of charcoal and to make tool handles and spoons. The tree is planted for shade and as an ornamental.

Properties

The stem bark of Cassia angolensis contains the anthraquinones chrysophanol, emodin and physcion.

Description

Medium-sized tree up to 25 m tall, deciduous, with straight bole; bark brown, smooth, scaling; young branches almost glabrous to shortly hairy. Leaves arranged spirally, paripinnately compound with 10–13 pairs of leaflets; stipules linear, 1.5 mm long, caducous; petiole and rachis 11–30 cm long; leaflets oblong-elliptical, 3.5–4 cm × 1.5–2 cm, apex emarginate, shortly hairy. Inflorescence an axillary raceme up to 12 cm long, c. 20-flowered; bracts soon falling. Flowers bisexual, zygomorphic, 5-merous; sepals rounded at apex; petals unequal, 2–3 cm long, golden-yellow; stamens (9–)10, the 3 lower ones largest, curved and sterile, 4 middle ones fertile, 3 upper ones rudimentary; ovary superior, linear, curved, glabrous, up to 2 cm long. Fruit a cylindrical pod up to 70 cm long, transversely partitioned, indehiscent, up to 60-seeded. Seeds compressed obovoid-cylindrical, 8–10 mm × 5–9 mm, brown. Seedling with epigeal germination.

Other botanical information

Until the early 1980s, Cassia was considered a very large genus of about 550 species, but was then split into 3 genera: Cassia s.s. with about 30 species, Chamaecrista and Senna.

Cassia mannii

Cassia mannii Oliv. is very similar to Cassia angolensis but has white or pink petals, the leaflets are not distinctly emarginate and the margin of the leaflets is pubescent. Cassia mannii occurs from Côte d’Ivoire southwards to Gabon and eastwards to Sudan and Uganda. In Congo an infusion of the bark is taken to cure bronchial problems and the crushed seeds are applied to skin scarifications to treat neuralgia. The bark is used for tanning and the heartwood is handsome, hard, heavy and tough and is suitable for turning and polishing.

Cassia fikifiki and aubrevillei

Two other Cassia species occurring in the Guineo-Congolian rainforest zone, Cassia fikifiki Aubrév. & Pellegr. and Cassia aubrevillei Pellegr., are both reported to have medicinal uses. However, all uses on record are from western Côte d’Ivoire and from Liberia where Cassia aubrevillei does not occur and hence, the uses should probably be attributed to Cassia fikifiki. Water or palm-wine extracts of the stem bark and roots of Cassia fikifiki are drunk to treat river blindness (onchocerciasis). A decoction of the bark is used for washing leprosy patients and dry powdered bark is sprinkled on wounds to promote healing. The dried bark dissolved in palm wine is taken to cure stomach-ache. To treat dizziness ash of burned pods is mixed with water and applied to the eyelids. The bark contains chrysophanol, aloe-emodin, physcion and rhein. The alcoholic extract of the bark showed significant microfilaricidal activity in vitro. Cassia aubrevillei and Cassia fikifiki are included in the IUCN Red List of endangered species as vulnerable and endangered, respectively.

Ecology

Cassia angolensis occurs in lowland rainforest at 800–1100 m altitude.

Management

Cassia angolensis is only cultivated for its ornamental value.

Genetic resources

As Cassia angolensis is fairly widespread there is no threat of genetic erosion or extinction.

Prospects

Cassia angolensis will probably remain of local importance only as a medicinal plant.

Major references

• Adjanohoun, E.J. & Aké Assi, L., 1979. Contribution au recensement des plantes médicinales de Côte d’Ivoire. Centre National de Floristique, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. 358 pp.

• Brenan, J.P.M., 1967. Leguminosae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. In: Milne-Redhead, E. & Polhill, R.M. (Editors). Flora of Tropical East Africa. Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations, London, United Kingdom. 230 pp.

• Kokwaro, J.O., 1993. Medicinal plants of East Africa. 2nd Edition. Kenya Literature Bureau, Nairobi, Kenya. 401 pp.

• Lovett, J.C., Ruffo, C.K., Gereau, R.E. & Taplin, J.R.D., 2006. Field guide to the moist forest trees of Tanzania. [Internet] Centre for Ecology Law and Policy, Environment Department, University of York, York, United Kingdom. http://www.york.ac.uk/ res/celp/webpages/projects/ecology/ tree%20guide/guide.htm. March 2006.

• Southon, I.W., Bisby, F.A., Buckingham, J. & Harborne, J.B., 1994. Phytochemical dictionary of the Leguminosae. Volume 1: Plants and their constituents. Chapman and Hall, London, United Kingdom. 1051 pp.

Other references

• Aubréville, A., 1959. La flore forestière de la Côte d’Ivoire. Deuxième édition révisée. Tome premier. Publication No 15. Centre Technique Forestier Tropical, Nogent-sur-Marne, France. 369 pp.

• Jahn, K., Kilian, H.D. & Kraus, L., 1990. Detection of anthranoids from “ganna ganna” (Cassia species). Planta Medica 56: 562.

• Kilian, H.D., Jahn, K., Kraus, L. & Büttner, D.W., 1990. In vivo and in vitro effects of extracts from Cassia aubrevillei in onchocerciasis. Acta Leiden 59(1–2): 365–371.

• Lock, J.M., 1990. Cassia sens.lat. (Leguminosae - Caesalpinioideae) in Africa. Kew Bulletin 43(2): 333–342.

• Ross, J.H., 1977. Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. In: Ross, J.H. (Editor). Flora of southern Africa. Volume 16, part 2. Botanical Research Institute, Department of Agricultural Technical Services, Pretoria, South Africa. 142 pp.

• Watt, J.M. & Breyer-Brandwijk, M.G., 1962. The medicinal and poisonous plants of southern and eastern Africa. 2nd Edition. E. and S. Livingstone, London, United Kingdom. 1457 pp.

• Wilczek, R., Léonard, J., Hauman, L., Hoyle, A.C., Steyaert, R., Gilbert, G. & Boutique, R., 1952. Caesalpiniaceae. In: Robyns, W., Staner, P., Demaret, F., Germain, R., Gilbert, G., Hauman, L., Homès, M., Jurion, F., Lebrun, J., Vanden Abeele, M. & Boutique, R. (Editors). Flore du Congo belge et du Ruanda-Urundi. Spermatophytes. Volume 3. Institut National pour l’Étude Agronomique du Congo belge, Brussels, Belgium. pp. 234–554.

Author(s)

• C.H. Bosch, PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands

Correct citation of this article

Bosch, C.H., 2007. Cassia angolensis Welw. ex Hiern. In: Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib-Fakim, A. (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa / Ressources végétales de l’Afrique tropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. Accessed 3 April 2025.

• See the Prota4U database.