Adenanthera pavonina

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Adenanthera pavonina
Adenanthera pavonina1.jpg
Adenanthera pavonina with the red seeds, India.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Adenanthera
Species: A. pavonina
Binomial name
Adenanthera pavonina

Adenanthera pavonina is a perennial and non-climbing species of leguminous tree. Its uses include food and drink, traditional medicine, and timber.[1]

Common names and synonyms[edit]

Adenanthera pavonina is commonly called Red Lucky Seed.[citation needed] Other common names for the tree include Acacia Coral, Arbre À Église, Bead Tree, Circassian Seed, Corail Végétale, Coral Wood, Coralitos, Curly Bean, Deleite, Delicia, Dilmawi, Graine-réglisse, Jumbi-Bead, L'Église, Peonía, Peonía Extranjera, Red Bead Tree, Red Sandalwood, Red Sandalwood Tree, and Réglisse.[1] Barbados pride, Peacock flower fence, Sandalwood tree, Saga, and Manchadi are additional common names. Synonyms for the tree include Adenanthera gersenii Scheff., Adenanthera polita Miq., and Corallaria parvifolia Rumph.[2] In Kerala where Adenanthera pavonina trees are abundant, the seeds are called Manjadi (മഞ്ചാടി).[citation needed]


The tree is common within the tropics of the old world. It has also been introduced in the following countries of the Americas: Brazil, especially in Caatinga vegetation; Costa Rica, Honduras, Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Tobago, Venezuela, and the United States, especially in southern Florida.



Adenanthera pavonina seeds have long been a symbol of love in China, and its name in Chinese is xiang si dou (Chinese: 相思豆), or "mutual love bean". The beauty of the seeds has led to them being used as beads for jewellery. Renowned botanist Edred Corner states that in India, the seeds have been used as units of weight for fine measures, of gold for instance, throughout recorded history because the seeds are known to be almost identical weights to each other. [3] Indeed, the Malay name for the tree, saga, has been traced to the Arabic for 'goldsmith'. The small, yellowish flower grows in dense drooping rat-tail flower heads, almost like catkins. The curved hanging pods, with a bulge opposite each seed, split open into two twisted halves to reveal the hard, scarlet seeds. This tree is used for making soap,[4] and a red dye can be obtained from the wood. The wood, which is extremely hard, is also used in boat-building, making furniture and for firewood.

The tree is fast-growing, with an attractive, spreading canopy that makes it suitable as a shade tree, and for ornamental purposes in large gardens or parks. However, it is also known for producing lots of litter in the form of leaves, twigs and especially seed pods which crack open while still on the branch, so releasing their seeds, before themselves falling to the ground.

In traditional medicine, a decoction of the young leaves and bark of Adenanthera pavonina is used to treat diarrhoea.[5] Also, the ground seeds are used to treat inflammation.[6] Preliminary scientific studies appear to support these traditional uses. In vitro studies show that Adenanthera pavonina leaf extract has antibacterial activity against the intestinal pathogen Campylobacter jejuni.[7] Also, high doses of seed extract have an anti-inflammatory effect in studies in rats and mice.[8]

Chemical constituents[edit]

Adenanthera pavonina is a source of aliphatic natural products (O-acetylethanolamine and 1-octacosanol), carbohydrate (galactitol), simple aromatic natural products (2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid), flavonoids (ampelopsin, butein, dihydrorobinetin, and robinetin), terpenoids (echinocystic acid and oleanolic acid), steroids (daucosterol, β-sitosterol, and stigmasterol), amino acids and peptides (2-amino-4-ethylidenepentanedioic acid and γ-methyleneglutamine), and alkaloids (O-acetylethanolamine and 1H-imidazole).[1]


  1. ^ a b c Bisby F (1994). Phytochemical Dictionary of the Leguminosae, Volume 1. Chapman and Hall/CRC. pp. 53–54. ISBN 0-41-239770-6. 
  2. ^ "Adenanthera pavonina". International Legume Database & Information Service. Retrieved 8 March 2014. 
  3. ^ Corner EJH (1988). Wayside Trees of Malaya, Volume 1. Malaysian Nature Society. ISBN 9-67-999060-5. 
  4. ^ "Species used for Soap". The Green Farmacy Garden. Retrieved 8 March 2014. 
  5. ^ "Adenanthera pavonina". International Center for Research in Agroforestry. Retrieved 24 September 2013. 
  6. ^ Smith AC (1985). Flora Vitiensis Nova: A New Flora of Fiji, Volume 5. National Tropical Botanical Garden. pp. 56–57. 
  7. ^ Dholvitayakhun A et al (2012). "Antibacterial activity of three medicinal Thai plants against Campylobacter jejuni and other foodborne pathogens". Natural Product Research 26 (4): 356–363. doi:10.1080/14786419.2010.545777. PMID 21878033. 
  8. ^ Olajide OA et al (2004). "Anti-inflammatory studies on Adenanthera pavonina seed extract". Inflammopharmacology 12 (2): 196–202. doi:10.1163/1568560041352310. PMID 15265320. 

External links[edit]