bigpod sesbania
Family
FabaceaeScientific Name
Sesbania exaltata
Other Common Names:
Colorado river hemp
coffee bean
hemp sesbania
peatree
sesbania
tall indigo
Synonyms (former Scientific Names):
Sesbania macrocarpa
Darwinia exaltata
Sesbania exaltata
Habit
The stems are thick and smooth with two faint ridges along the upper portion, and the stem tips have few or no hairs.
Leaves
The leaves are 4-12 inches long and may have from 20-70 leaflets. The leaflets can be up to 3.5 cm long and 8 mm wide, and are smooth and somewhat waxy beneath.
Identifying Characteristics
It can be easily identified by its leaves, which are composed of many smaller leaflets, large yellow flowers and a distinctive curved seedpod.
Flower Seed Head
The petals are yellow and are often streaked or spotted with purple.
Seed Fruit
The fruit is a dry, smooth, linear pod from 10-20 cm long and 3-4 mm broad. Each pod contains from 30-40 seeds.
Where Found
Hemp sesbania occurs in low sandy fields, sand bars of streams, roadside ditches, along ponds or streams, and in disturbed urban or agricultural areas.
Growth Habit
upright and nonwoody
Thorns or Spines
not present
Approximate Flower Diameter
Varies:
pencil,
dime,
nickle
Dominant Flower Color
Varies:
white,
yellow,
purple
Flower Symmetry
radial symmetery
Leaf Hairs
no hairs
Leaf Shape
Varies:
needle,
lance
Leaf Arrangement
alternate
Leaf Margin
entire
Leaf Structure
pinnate
Leaf Stalk
shorter than leaf
Stem Hairs
no hairs
Stem Cross Section
round or oval
Milky Sap
not present
Root Structure
Varies:
fibrous,
taproot
Life Cycle
summer annual
Ochrea
not present
Plant Type
Herb