Sesamum indicum L., Pedaliaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Sesamum orientale L.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chamorro: ahonholi

English: beni, beniseed, benneseed, sesame

French: sésame

Spanish: ajonjolí, sésamo

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Pubescent annual herb (hairs of 2 types; long articulate, and short 4-lobed mucilaginous); stem to 1-2 m high; leaves 3-foliolate or pinnatisect, upper ones simple, ovate-oblong to lanceolate, 4-20 cm long, to 15 cm wide, on petioles 2-15 cm long; flowers single (sometimes paired) in axils, very shortly pedicellate; calyx pubescent, green, about 6 mm long, lobes sharply acute; corolla pinkish-purple (rarely white), about 3.6 cm long; stamens included; capsule erect, oblong, rounded, 4-grooved, pubescent, about 2.5 cm long, 2-valuved; seeds black, brown or white, 2.5-3 mm long, smooth or minutely reticulate" (Stone, 1970; p. 527).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "cultivated and occasionally naturalized, becoming a weed in canefields, and in moist, cultivated areas near sea level" (Smith, 1991; p. 139).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "The species is apparently indigenous in Africa and is of ancient cultivation; it was taken at an early date to India, China and Persia, where secondary centers of diversity and many cultivars have developed" (Smith, 1991; p. 139).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 253)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (p. 139) Voucher cited: Bierhorst F209
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (p. 139) Vouchers cited: Greenwood 262, DA 10697, DA 11737
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 527)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 253)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 331)

Additional information:
Information from the Purdue New Crop Center.

Additional online information about Sesamum indicum is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Sesamum indicum as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Sesamum indicum may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Smith, Albert C. 1991. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 5. 626 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.