Sesbania speciosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is a perennial shrub with six to ten flowered inflorescences, and brown, kidney-shaped seeds. The species is native to Africa, and has been introduced to Asia.
Sesbania speciosa was described in 1894, and is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.
Taxonomy The species was described by Adolf Engler in 1894, following an invalid publication by Paul Hermann Wilhelm Taubert.
Distribution Sesbania speciosa is native to the seasonally dry tropical biome of Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozabique. It has been introduced to India, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.
The species grows in seasonally flooded grasslands, swamps and ditches, and on river banks, at elevations below .
Description Sesbania speciosa is a perennial shrub. It grows high. The branchlets are obtusely angular.
The leaves are up to long. The plant has around fifteen pairs of narrowly oblong leaflets. The leaflets are long, and long.
The inflorescences have six to ten flowers. The flower stems are around long. The calyx is widely bell-shaped, around long, and has five teeth. The teeth are around long. The vexillum is mottled with purple, broadly elliptical, around long, and around wide. The keel is around long.
The fruit is up to long, and around wide. The seeds are dark brown, and roughly kidney-shaped.
Uses In Asia, Sesbania speciosa is cultivated for green manure, which is mainly used for rice farming.
Conservation In 2012, the IUCN assessed Sesbania speciosa as Vulnerable. Its habitat is affected by agriculture, including Jatropha and sugar plantations. The species is present in Saadani National Park.
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