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| Saga |
This medium-sized tree is native to India and southern China,
but now found throughout the tropics. The main feature is spreading
rounded crown and fruits. It could grow up to 30m. The scientific
name for Saga is
Adenanthera pavonina. |
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Leaves
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 Compound
bipinnate. It is green when young and turns yellow when old. The
young leaves can be cooked and eaten, but usually only during famine.
The leaves were also used to supplement animal fodder, or mulched
to fertilise crops. |
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Seeds
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 Some,
especially children, just can't resist to collect the brightly
red seeds been littered to the ground. Seeds were made into beads
or as playthings. It was used in ancient India for weighing gold.
They are curiously similar in weight. Four seeds make up about
one gramme. |
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Where
to Find Saga Trees?
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Fruits
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Green pods, swollen along regular intervals where the seeds
are.
With
maturity the pods turn brown, becoming coiled, then black as
the pods split open to liberate the red seeds.
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