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)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced invasive cultivated	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 448) Cultivated here and there, often occurring in open waste places as an escape.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 256)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 79) Naturalised
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:

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

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.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 3 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 628 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. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.