Taxon: Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr.

Summary

Genus:

Sesbania

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Faboideae

Tribe:

Sesbanieae

Nomen number:

33782

Place of publication:

Philipp. J. Sci., C 7:235. 1912

Verified:

02/18/2005 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

15 (8 active, 8 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr. subsp. punctata (DC.) J. B. Gillett (0 active accession[s])
Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr. subsp. sesban (0 active accession[s])
Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr. subsp. sesban var. bicolor (Wight & Arn.) F. W. Andrews (0 active accession[s])
Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr. subsp. sesban var. nubica Chiov. (0 active accession[s])
Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr. subsp. sesban var. sesban (0 active accession[s])
Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr. subsp. sesban var. zambesiaca J. B. Gillett (0 active accession[s])
Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr. var. muricata Baquar (0 active accession[s])

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1960-. Flore du Cambodge du Laos et du Viet-Nam.
Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt
Burbidge, N. T. 1965. The Australian species of Sesbania Scopoli (Leguminosae). Austral. J. Bot. 13:124.
Du Puy, D. J. et al. 2002. The Leguminosae of Madagascar
Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia, a source book of edible plants Kampong Publications.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Gillett, J. B. 1963. Sesbania in Africa (excluding Madagascar) and southern Arabia. Kew Bull. 17:112.
Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds
Huang, S. F. & T. C. Huang. 1987. Taxonomic treatment of the Papilionoideae (Leguminosae) of Taiwan. Taiwania 32:11-117.
Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
Lock, J. M. & K. Simpson. 1991. Legumes of West Asia: a checklist
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Nasir, S. M. & M. Athar. 1998. Fuelwood as an energy source. Phytologia 85:106.
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Pulle, A. A. et al., eds. 1932-. Flora of Suriname.
Sanjappa, M. 1992. Legumes of India
't Mannetje, L. & R. M. Jones, eds. 1992. Forages. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 4:198.
Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	Egyptian sesban	1	Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia, a source book of edible plants Kampong Publications.
English	sesban	1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Arabic	saisaban	2	Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Uganda			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Chad			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Djibouti			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Somalia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Sudan			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Egypt			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Botswana			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Eswatini			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	KwaZulu-Natal		Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Transvaal		Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Côte D'Ivoire			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Gambia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Ghana			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Guinea			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Guinea-Bissau			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Mali			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Niger			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Nigeria			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Senegal			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Sierra Leone			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Togo			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Cameroon			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Rwanda			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Bahrain
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Oman
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Saudi Arabia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Yemen		n.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Yunnan Sheng
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Afghanistan
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iran
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iraq			Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Bangladesh			Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Assam		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Bihar		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Delhi		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Goa		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Gujarat		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Haryana		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Himachal Pradesh		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Karnataka		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Kerala		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Madhya Pradesh		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Maharashtra		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Manipur		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Mizoram		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Nagaland		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Odisha		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Puducherry		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Punjab		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Rajasthan		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Sikkim		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Tamil Nadu		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Tripura		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	Uttar Pradesh		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India	West Bengal		Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Nepal			Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan			Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Sri Lanka			Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Cambodia			Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	India	Andaman and Nicobar Islands
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Laos			Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Thailand			Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Vietnam			Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Malaysia
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Northern Territory
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Queensland
2	Cultivated					cult. throughout tropics
4	Naturalized					natzd. throughout tropics

Native
Africa

NORTHERN AFRICA: Egypt
NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Chad
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Uganda
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Cameroon, Rwanda
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Côte D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Eswatini, South Africa [KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal]

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen (n.)
WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq
CHINA: China [Yunnan Sheng]

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bangladesh, India [Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal], Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan
INDO-CHINA: India [Andaman and Nicobar Islands], Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam
MALESIA: Indonesia, Malaysia

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia [Queensland, Northern Territory]

Cultivated (cult. throughout tropics)
Naturalized (natzd. throughout tropics)

Reference(s)

Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. 1966-. Flora of Iraq.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	fodder		Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Environmental	agroforestry		Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
Environmental	agroforestry		Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Environmental	ornamental		Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Environmental	soil improver		Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2
Fuels	fuelwood	potential	Nasir, S. M. & M. Athar. 1998. Fuelwood as an energy source. Phytologia 85:106.
Medicines	folklore		McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Weed			Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=33782. Accessed 15 April 2026.