Sesbania Punicea
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''Sesbania punicea'' (Spanish gold, rattlebox, or scarlet sesban) is an ornamental shrub with reddish-orange flowers native to South America. It has deciduous leaves and grows to a height of 15 feet (4.5 m). This plant has a high demand for water, and thrives in swamps or wet areas. It requires a mildly acidic soil, with a pH between 6.1 and 6.5.


Distribution

The species is native to
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
,
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
,
Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
and
Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
. It has spread to other parts of South America and many coastal southern United States as well as to parts of Africa. Due to its high demand for water, this species is often found on marshy shorelines. It also forms dense thickets and thrives in disturbed areas.


Taxonomy

The genus ''Sesbania'' is within the larger family Fabaceae. The Fabaceae are divided into three subfamilies: *
Mimosoideae The Mimosoideae are a traditional subfamily of trees, herbs, lianas, and shrubs in the pea family (Fabaceae) that mostly grow in tropical and subtropical climates. They are typically characterized by having radially symmetric flowers, with petal ...
(80 genera and 3,200 species) **
Caesalpinioideae Caesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. Its name is formed from the generic name '' Caesalpinia''. It is known also as the peacock flower subfamily. The Caesalpinioideae a ...
(170 genera and 2,000 species) ***
Faboideae The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae, or Papilionaceae when this group of plants is treated as a family. This subfamily is widely ...
(470 genera and 14,000 species) The genus'' Sesbania'' belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, which has the greatest amount of diversity within the family Fabaceae. The subfamilies Mimosoideae and Faboideae are largely monophyletic, whereas the subfamily Caesalpinioideae is considered paraphyletic.'The Legume Phylogeny Working Group (LPWG).', 2017, A new subfamily classification of the Leguminosae based on a taxonomically comprehensive phylogeny,
Taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...
, vol. = 66, number = 1, pages = 44–77, http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/iapt/tax/2017/00000066/00000001/art00004


Habitat and ecology

Flowers appear in late spring and persist until the autumn. In the United States, this species blooms between June and September, in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
between November and January. When the
carpel Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more ...
lous structures dry out, the seeds drop close to the base of the plant. The seed coats are impermeable, which means they can be dispersed by water. This impermeability is caused by
callose Callose is a plant polysaccharide. Its production is due to the glucan synthase-like gene (GLS) in various places within a plant. It is produced to act as a temporary cell wall in response to stimuli such as stress or damage. Callose is composed ...
. Hence, they are often found near rivers and brooks. This species is also commonly found near roadsides, maybe the seeds were imported with the soil used for construction. This species is shade-tolerant. Seedlings can produce flowers and seeds after three month, although flowering most commonly occurs at two years of age. The plant can survive frost, but not for prolonged periods of time .


Morphology

The
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
leaves are alternate and compound. Between five and 20 pairs of elliptical leaflets occur on a single stalk. The leaf margins are commonly entire, with little or no serration. Each leaflet is oblong and ends in a pointy tip. The leaves contain stipules that are usually inconspicuous. The flowers and fruits droop at the tips of the stalks. The branches of this shrub are rather thin, and green, but turn a darker red brown when they mature. The bark varies from gray brown to red brown with obvious horizontal
lenticel A lenticel is a porous tissue consisting of cells with large intercellular spaces in the periderm of the secondarily thickened organs and the Bark (botany), bark of woody stems and roots of gymnosperms and dicotyledonous flowering plants. It func ...
s.


Flowers and fruit

The flowers are shaped like pea flowers, 2–3 cm long, and are commonly red-orange or red-purple. Flowers often form a
raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...
. Characteristic of the family Fabaceae, this species has five fused
sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...
s and five free
petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...
s. The flower always contains ten
stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...
s, sometimes with various combinations of fused filaments. The ovary is superior and the style is often curved. Characteristic of the subfamily Faboideae, these flowers are
zygomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spir ...
and have a specialized structure. The upper petal is referred to as the banner, and encapsulates the petals when they are in the bud. The two adjacent flowers, called the wings, overlap the bottom two petals. The bottom petals are often fused at the apex, forming a keel. The flowers appear "showy" because they are most commonly pollinated by insects, who are attracted by these features. The large pea pods are divided into four compartments and appear as if they have shrunk slightly due to drying. These fruits are
dehiscent Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part. Structures that op ...
and dry out as they become mature. Each fruit can contain between five and ten seeds, which are dispersed when the pod dries out and opens up. On average, a single plant can produce 100–300 pods. The immature pods are a yellow or green. As the season progresses, they turn a darker green, eventually becoming dark brown. Seedpods often stay on the plant far into the winter, and the seeds rattle when shaken by the wind, giving the plant its common name of “rattlebox”.


Usage and economic importance

These plants are used as ornamentals due to their graceful shape and beautiful red flowers. It can easily be grown from seeds, which require
scarification Scarification involves scratching, etching, burning/ branding, or superficially cutting designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent body modification or body art. The body modification can take roughly 6–12 months to heal. In t ...
in order to germinate. The species has been classified as invasive in many of the southern United States such as Virginia, California, Texas, and Florida. This shrub can often form dense thickets. It is replacing native species of plants in riparian areas, taking food resources away from the local wildlife. In addition, this species contributes to riverbank erosion and flooding. It has been declared a noxious weed and/or seed in the United States in the aquatic, terrestrial, and seed forms. This plant has no known economic or medicinal uses. Its close relative '' S. virgata'' has been used to control soil erosion, rehabilitate disturbed areas, and revitalize riparian habitats. Juice made from the leaves of this plant reduces the response to painful stimulation and inflammatory edema in mice.


Toxicity

''Sesbania puniceas'' contains toxic saponic glycosides. The poison can be dangerous to local birds and mammals. Humans who ingest this plant or its seeds may become very sick and may suffer vomiting,
diarrhea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...
, respiratory failure, and death.


Management

The root systems of young ''S. punicea'' plants are not very extensive and the soil is loose under waterlogged conditions, so these plants can be removed by hand or simple garden tools. Trees with larger trunks can be cut and treated with
glyphosate Glyphosate (IUPAC name: ''N''-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide and crop desiccant. It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate, which acts by EPSP inhibitor, inhibiting the plant enzyme 5-en ...
and/or
triclopyr Triclopyr (3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinyloxyacetic acid) is an organic compound in the pyridine group that is used as a systemic foliar herbicide and fungicide. History Triclopyr triethylammonium (TEA) was first registered in 1979 in the United ...
. If they are found in standing water, the stem can be cut to below the water level. Simply flooding the area will not kill them. Biological controls have also been used to prevent this species from spreading. The South American apionid
weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small – less than in length – and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several fa ...
,''
Trichapion lativentre ''Trichapion'' is a genus of weevil in the family Brentidae. Species include: *''Trichapion aurichalceum'' (type species) *'' Trichapion lativentre'' (Sesbania flower weevil) *'' Trichapion nigrum'' *'' Trichapion porcatum'' *''Trichapion rostru ...
'', was introduced to South Africa in the late 1970s. This weevil has now dispersed over most of the range of ''S. punicea''. The adult weevils feed on the leaves and lay single eggs in premature flower buds. The larvae then feed on the stamens and carpels of the flower and pupate in the hollow husks of the buds. The weevil has prevented the rapid spread of ''S. punicea'' in South Africa.


References

{{Authority control Faboideae Taxa named by Antonio José Cavanilles