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.

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
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Caesalpinia
Species: C. sappan

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