Skip to main content

Secang (Caesalpinia sappan)

Secang or Biancaea sappan (Caesalpinia sappan) is a species of small tree or shrub, 4-10 m tall, grayish-brown or green stems and has many protuberances like teeth with many thorns that are curved downward and scattered, young twigs and buds have fine hair that is smooth tanned.

C. sappan has brown taproot, stems grow upright, compound leaves and double pinnate with 3-4 mm support, green and easy to fall. The main leaf bone is 25-40 cm long with 9-14 pairs of side leaf bones.

Dlium Secang (Caesalpinia sappan)

Secang has 10-20 pairs of minor leaves on each side of the leaf bone, facing each other, oval shaped, 10-25x3-11 mm with a tilted base and curved ends, with flat edges and short hair.

Flowers in panicles at the tip of the stem or in the upper armpits, 10-40 cm long, have protective leaves for 5-12x2-5 mm, hair and fall off easily. Pedicels have a length of 15-20 mm.

Yellow flowers, number 5, bald petals and taju has a size of 7-10x4 mm. The flower crown has hair, 9-11.5x6-10 mm, the upward has smaller size, has nails for 5 mm, stalks for 15 mm and pistils for 18 mm.

The fruit in pods, oval and asymmetrical, 6-10x3-4 cm, has a beak tip, yellowish green and becomes reddish brown when ripe. Each pod has 2-4 seeds, ellipsoid, 15-18x8-11 mm and blackish brown.







Secang grows in the tropics at an altitude of 500-1000 m on sloping lands and cannot stand inundation. This plant grows on clay soil or rocky limestone or sandy soil near rivers.

Wood is used as a coloring agent for food, clothing, plaits and other items. Wood also has properties as astringensia. The main ingredients are brazilin as an antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-photoaging, hypoglycemic, vasorelaxant, hepatoprotective and anti-acne.

Wood extract also has anti-tumor, anti-virus, immunostimulant and others properties. The Javanese use pieces of sappan wood to mix herbal ingredients and one of the ingredients for making distinctive refreshments in Yogyakarta.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Tribe: Caesalpinieae
Genus: Caesalpinia
Species: Caesalpinia sappan

Popular Posts

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar (Amanita javanica)

OPINION - Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a mysterious fungus species and has been enigmatic since it was first reported by Boedijn in 1951 and after that no explanation or reporting of specimens is believed to be the same as expected. Boedijn (1951) described A. javanica which grew on Java island as having the characteristics covered in the Amanita genus. Corner and Bas in 1962 tried to describe Javan mocca and all species in Amanita based on specimens in Singapore. Over time some reports say that they have found A. javanica specimens in other Southeast Asia including also China, Japan, India and Nepal. But there is no definitive knowledge and many doubt whether the specimen is the same as described by Boedijn (1951). I was fortunate to have seen this species one afternoon and soon I took out a camera for some shots. In fact, I've only met this mushroom species once. Javan mocca is an endangered species and I have never seen in my experience in...

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Javanese grasshopper (Valanga nigricornis)

Wooden grasshopper or Javanese grasshopper ( Valanga nigricornis ) is an animal species of Acrididae, grasshoppers that have at least 18 subspecies, insects with very wide diversity in color and size, sexual dimorphism in which females are larger in size and paler in color. V. nigricornis in males has a length of 45-55 millimeters and females 15-75 mm. The head is square and green or yellow or brown or black in color. A pair of antennas has a black color. The eyes are large and gray or white or brownish. The hind legs are very large and have a green or yellow or brown or black color, plain or brindle. The limbs have two rows of large and long spines with black tips facing backward. The wings have a length exceeding the belly, a rough surface and are brown or green or yellow or black in color with pulse lines forming spaces filled with black color. The hind wings are rose red which will be visible when flying. Nymphs are pale green or yellow or brown or blackish in color. Javanese gr...