Edible Plants of the World

Matara tea, Tanner's cassia

A tropical plant. It grows in dry regions. In East Africa it grows between 150-610 m altitude. It requires full sun and rich light fertile well drained soil. It needs a pH between 5 and 7.7. It grows in regions with a rainfall between 380 and 4300 mm. It needs average temperatures between 16 and 27.5 °C. It is tolerant of drought. It can grow in arid places.

Also known as:

Anwala, Avarai, Avaram, Avarike, Awal, Peik-thingat, Ranauraa, Ranawara, Tangedu, Tanner's senna, Tarvad, Tarwad, Tawar

Synonyms

Edible Portion

Where does Matara tea grow?

Found in: Africa, Asia, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Congo, East Africa, Ghana, India, Indochina, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, West Africa, Yemen

Notes: There are 100 Cassia species. This group has been revised to a smaller more consistent group. It is used in medicine. Also as Caesalpinaceae.

Status: It is mostly grown for non food uses. It is an emergency or famine food.

Growing Matara tea, Tanner's cassia

Cultivation: Plants can be grown from seeds. They are planted 10-15 cm deep and are put 5-13 cm apart. They are then thinned out. It can be cut back and will re-grow. They can also be grown from stem cuttings.

Edible Uses: The tender leaves, flowers and pods are eaten by poor people in India. The dried flowers are used as a coffee substitute. The dried leaves are used as tea. The young pods, leaves and flowers are eaten. The bark is bruised and allowed to ferment with molasses to make a drink. The bark contains tannins and alkaloids. Caution:

Production: Plants mostly flower in the hot season.

Nutrition Info

per 100g edible portion

Edible Part Energy (kcal) Protein (g) Iron (mg) Vitamin A (ug) Vitamin c (mg) Zinc (mg) % Water
Leaves 84 2.5 12.7 - 968 -

References

Ambasta S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 109 (As Cassia auriculata)

Bremness, L., 1994, Herbs. Collins Eyewitness Handbooks. Harper Collins. p 128

Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 1. Kew. (As Cassia auriculata)

Burkill, I.H., 1966, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol 1 (A-H) p 480 (As Cassia auriculata)

Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 67 (As Cassia auriculata)

FAO, 1988, Traditional Food Plants, FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 42. FAO Rome p 155 (As Cassia auriculata)

Fl. ind. ed. 1832, 2:349. 1832

Gunjatkar, N., & Vartak, V.D., 1982, Enumeration of wild edible legumes from Pune District, Maharashtra State. J.Econ. Tax. Bot. Vol 3 pp 1-9 (As Cassia auriculata)

Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 173 (As Cassia auriculata)

Jadhav, V. D. et al, 2011, Documentation and ethnobotanical survey of wild edible plants from Kolhapur district. Recent Research in Science and Technology. 3(12): 58-63 (As Cassia auriculata)

Karthi, Sathya, & Salome, 2014, Uncultivated Edible Greens from Small Millet Farms Tamil Nadu India. IDRC (As Cassia auriculata)

Rajapaksha, U., 1998, Traditional Food Plants in Sri Lanka. HARTI, Sri Lanka. p 223 (As Cassia auriculata)

Macmillan, H.F. (Revised Barlow, H.S., et al), 1991, Tropical Planting and Gardening. Sixth edition. Malayan Nature Society. Kuala Lumpur. p 356 (As Cassia auriculata)

Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 198 (As Cassia auriculata)

Prashanth Kumar, G.M. and Shiddamallayya, N., 2015, Ethnobotanical Study of Less Known Wild Edible Plants of Hakki Pikki Tribes of Angadihalli, Hassan District, Karnataka. Journal or Medicinal Plants Studies 3(5):80-85 (As Cassia auriculata)

Purseglove, J.W., 1968, Tropical Crops Dicotyledons, Longmans. p 204 (As Cassia auriculata)

Rajasab, A. H. et al, 2004, Documentation of folk knowledge on edible wild plants of North Karnataka. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. Vol 3(4) pp 419-429(As Cassia auriculata)

Reddy, K. N. et al, 2007, Traditional knowledge on wild food plants in Andhra Pradesh. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. Vol. 6(1): 223-229 (As Cassia auriculata)

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Published on the Internet; http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ceb/sepasal/internet [Accessed 26th April 2011]

Selvam, V., 2007, Trees and shrubs of the Maldives. RAP Publication No. 2007/12 p 54

Sivakumar, A. & Murugesan, M., 2005, Ethnobotanical Studies of the wild edible plants used by the tribals of the Anaimalai Hills, the Western Ghats. Ancient Science of Life. XXV(2) Oct-Dec. (As Cassia auriculata)

Sujanapal, P., & Sankaran, K. V., 2016, Common Plants of Maldives. FAO & Kerala FRI, p 236

World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew