Description

Sicklebush, known as Bell mimosa, Chinese lantern tree or Kalahari Christmas tree (South Africa), is a legume of the genus Dichrostachys in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa, Indian subcontinent and North Australia and introduced to the Caribbean and parts of Southeast Asia. In Ethiopia, the species is common in the Nechisar National Park. The tree was brought to the Caribbean in the 19th century.In Cuba, where it is known as El Marabú or Marabou weed, it has become a serious invasive species problem, occupying about 4,900,000 acres (20,000 km²) of agricultural land. Plans are underway to exploit it as a source of biomass for renewable power generation.  

Characteristics:

Sickle bush is a beautiful, small Mimosa-related tree, growing up to 8 m tall. It has bipinnate leaves, 4-8 cm long, 5 to 15 pairs of pinnae, each with 12 to 30 pairs of leaflets. It blooms with beautiful bottle-brush like flower heads which are half pink and half yellow. The rear pink part fades to white with time. The buds look like beautiful pink and yellow mulberry fruits. The fruit-pod is narrowly oblong, variously curved and/or coiled, 5-7 cm long, 0.8-1.5 cm wide, blackish, glabrous. Sickle bush is native to India, SE Asia, Africa and Northern Australia. Flowering: June-August.  

Medicinal Uses:

The bark is astringent and vermifuge. It is used in the treatment of dysentery, headaches, toothaches and elephantiasis. The root is anthelmintic, purgative and strongly diuretic. Infusions are taken for the treatment of snakebites, leprosy, syphilis and coughs. A decoction of the root has been used as a contraceptive for women. The pounded roots and leaves are used to treat epilepsy. A chloroform extract of the leaves has been shown to possess antibacterial and analgesic activites. A saponin extract of the leaves has been demonstrated to possess anti-inflammatory activity. An aqueous extract of the leaves has been shown to possess analgesic and antiinflammatory activities.