Common Name: Saga Tree
Other Names: Red Bean Tree; Red Sandalwood; Remembrance Bean Tree
Botanical Name: Adenanthera pavonina
Family: Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
Main Features
- Medium-sized deciduous tree which grows up to 15 to 20m tall.
- Spreading rounded crown which grows up to 30m.
- Compound bipinnate leaves which turn from yellow to green as it ages. Leaves are shed every 6 to 8 months.
- Tiny creamy-yellow star-shaped flowers with drooping rat-tail like flower heads and five petals each.
- Fruits are in the form of curved hanging green pods that will turn brown, coil up and split open to reveal small bright red seeds when they ripen.
General Information
- A hardy, fast-growing and low-maintenance tree.
- Native to southern China and India.
- Grows best in neutral to slightly acidic soils.
- Useful as shade, and also acts as an ornamental tree.
Uses
- Leaves can be cooked and eaten.
- Raw seeds are toxic and can cause intoxication, but are edible (and rich in protein and oil) after cooking.
- Seeds can be used as weight measure, in particular for gold and silver.
- Seeds can also be used to make necklaces.
- The oil produced by grounded seeds can be used as an industrial lubricant.
- Wood can be used to make houses, furnitures and cabinetry.
- Wood can also be used as firewood, as it burns well.
- Red Dye obtained from the wood is used by Hindu Brahmins to make religious markings on their foreheads.
- Can be planted as "nurse trees" in coffee, rubber and clove plantations.
- Red Powder from grinding the wood can be used as an antiseptic paste.
- Grounded seeds can be used to treat boils and inflammations.
- Decoction of the leaves can be used to treat rheumatism and gout.
- Bark can be used to wash hair.
- The entire tree can help fix nitrogen levels and rejuvenate soils.
Interesting Information
- The red seeds are relatively uniform in size and weight, with 4 seeds weighing 1 gram. Thus, they were also widely used as weight measures in the past.
- Malaysia's national car, Proton Saga, is named after the Saga tree.
- The Saga tree is a heritage tree in Singapore.
- The Saga tree is removed from roadsides and other areas mainly because it is susceptible to damage in strong winds and has a tendency to become untidy with age.
- The name "Saga" is linked to the Arabic term for "goldsmith".
