Not so wild

SICKLE SENNA, A WIDELY AVAILABLE BUT LITTLE-KNOWN HERB, IS READY TO TAKE ON THE PHARMA INDUSTRY

- SHALINI DHYANI

MONSOON SHOWERS in India not only offer relief from scorching summers but also infuse new life into the bare parched ground, covering it with a lush green carpet of grass and wild shrubs. As the season advances, the greenery gets punctuated by pale yellow flowers with swarms of bees and butterflies hovering over them. These are the flowers of sickle senna (Cassia tora), an edible weed that fills nearly every vacant plot, roadside, wasteland and riverbank in one’s neighbourhood as soon as the rains arrive, and grows profusely throughout the year. Though many, particularly those in urban areas, consider it a weed and try to get rid of it, sickle senna is an excellent source of food and nutrition for several communities in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Goa, where it is known by names such as chakun da, chakwad, chakod, chakramarda saag, tagrai and soru-medelua.