Common name: Sesame
Sesamum indicum L. APNI* Description: Erect annual to 1.7 m high, strongly smelling. Stems 4-angled, woody toward base, sparsely glandular-hairy, the hairs antrorse.
Leaves variable: lower leaves opposite, 3-foliolate to palmatisect, petioles 1–10 cm long; upper leaves ovate-lanceolate to oblong, petioles short; all leaves with mucilaginous hairs on the lower surface, ± entire to coarsely serrate.
Flowers axillary, 1–3 together, often forming termial leafy racemes. Calyx 5–6 mm long, hairy. Corolla white or suffused with violet, hairy outside, purple-spotted inside, 2.5–3.5 cm long.
Capsule oblong, 4-locular, longitudinally grooved, 1.5–3 cm long, apex beaked. Seeds numerous.
Flowering: Flowers white to pinkish.
Distribution and occurrence: Cultivated worldwide for the seeds and the oil they yield. Native of India or possibly Africa. Naturalised on roadsides near Griffith. NSW:SWP. Qld. N.Terr.
NSW subdivisions: *SWP
Other Australian states: *Qld *N.T.
Text by D.M. Crayn (2004)
Taxon concept:
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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