''Sesamum radiatum'' is a species of flowering plant in the Pedaliaceae. It is in the same genus as

sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is c ...

. It is known by the English common names benniseed, black benniseed, black sesame,Konan, A. B., et al. (2011)
Myostimulating effect of ''Sesamum radiatum'' aqueous leaf extract in isolated guinea-pig ''taenia caeci'' contractile activity.
''Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med.'' 8(4): 377–385. and vegetable sesame.B.M. Auwalu and F.E. Babatunde. (2007)
Analyses of growth, yield and fertilization of vegetable sesame (''Sesamum radiatum'' Schum).
''Journal of Plant Sciences'' 2: 108-112. It is native to west and central Africa, has been cultivated since ancient times in Africa, and is sometimes also used in tropical Asia where it has become naturalized to a small extent.

Etymology

Benniseed is a portmanteau of both the word ''benne'' and ''seed''. Benne, meaning

derives from

Gullah The Gullah () are an African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, within the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. Their language and cul ...

''benne'' which is akin to Malinke ''bĕne''.

Use

Culinary

The seeds are eaten whole, made into a paste, ground into a powder, or pressed for a high-quality oil. The leaves can be eaten fresh or cooked and are used in Sub-Saharan Africa as a

leaf vegetable Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad ...

. The leaves are mucilaginous in texture when cooked. The shoots can also be eaten and are used in soups and porridge.

Medicinally

The leaves are also used medicinally as a

laxative Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lub ...

, an antidote to scorpion venom and to treat sprains and ease childbirth. The stem and bark have also been noted for their anti-bacterial properties.

Cultivation

This plant is an annual herb growing up to tall. The leaves are opposite, or toward the top of the plant, alternately arranged. The leaves are lance-shaped to oval and up to long. They may be smooth-edged or serrated. Flowers occur singly in the leaf axils. They are pink to purple in color, sometimes white, and somewhat bell-shaped. They measure up to long. The fruit is a capsule up to long which contains seeds roughly long. This plant grows wild in savanna and other habitat types. It is also a weed of fields and homesteads. It can grow on poor, rocky soils and it flowers even through

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

conditions. When cultivated the plant yields of leaves per

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

. This plant is vulnerable to the leaf spot disease '' Cercospora sesami''. It is also attacked by hawk moths (

Sphingidae The Sphingidae are a family of moths ( Lepidoptera) called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as “hornworms”; it includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, ...

), the moth ''

Antigastra catalaunalis ''Antigastra catalaunalis'' is a species of moth of the family Crambidae. The species was first described by Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel in 1833. It is endemic to tropical and subtropical areas (South Asia, Malay Archipelago, Africa), b ...

'', and the vegetable bug '' Nezara viridula''.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7456020 Pedaliaceae Leaf vegetables Taxa named by Heinrich Christian Friedrich Schumacher