Sesamum indicum

Family:PEDALIACEAE
Species:Sesamum indicum Linnaeus
Common Name:Sesame; Beniseed
Habitat:A commonly cultivated annual crop that occasionally returns in areas of past cultivation or occurs as waifs along roadsides or other ruderal areas.
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Herb
Duration:Annual
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:**
Plant Notes:Sesame is an introduced herbaceous annual in the Sesame family (Pedaliaceae). It has been cultivated for thousands of years and the native range is uncertain. It is believed to be native to Asia or Africa, possibly India or Ethiopia. In Alabama it has been found in the southern half of the state. Sesame is cultivated for seed and oil, and is sometimes included in bird seed mixes. It has been found on roadsides, around the edges of fields, beneath bird feeders, and in flower beds. It is an annual with a tap root. Stems are erect, 2-5 feet in height, 4-angled, finely pubescent, and green in color. The plants may be branched or unbranched. Leaves are petiolate, opposite or alternate in arrangement, lanceolate, ovate, or three-parted in outline, pubescent on the upper surface, with entire to incised margins. Drooping white, pink, or purple flowers are produced in the axils of the upper leaves. The persistent calyx is glandular pubescent and green in color. The corolla is slightly curved and pubescent on the external surface. There are yellow markings within the throat. The fruit is an oblong, pubescent capsule. Conspicuous yellow extrafloral nectaries occur on the stem. They are roundish in outline and release a sugary solution that attracts ants. The ants attack other insects and help to protect the plant from herbivores.—A. Diamond.
Taxonomic Notes:Linnaeus published Sesamum indicum and S. orientale on the same page in 1753. When considered a single species, S. indicum has been conserved against S. orientale.
Status:Not Native
References:**
Specimen: View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilyPEDALIACEAE - Sesame family
Genus Sesamum
Species Sesamum indicum Linnaeus - Sesame; Beniseed

Citation

Citation Sesamum indicum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 634. 1753. nom. cons.
Basionym: **
Type: INDIA: Without data (lectotype: LINN 802.3). Lectotypified by Abedin, in Nasir & Ali, Fl. W. Pakistan 33: 4. 1973

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Sesamum orientale Sesamum orientale Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 634. 1753.  

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Autauga, Bullock, Geneva, Lee, Mobile, Montgomery, Pike

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, AUA, TROY, UNA, UWAL

Range of years during which specimens were collected: 1966 - 1966

Barcode / Accession No. County Coll. Date Collector &
Collection No.
Herbarium &
Herbarium Name Used
Image
TROY000050651 Lee 22 Apr 2014 Hansen, Curtis J.
5881A
TROY
Sesamum indicum Linnaeus
UWAL0014877 Bullock 02 Aug 2013 Diamond, Alvin R.
24424
UWAL
Sesamum orientale Linnaeus
ALNHS00006368 Lee 20 Jul 2016 Barger, T. Wayne
SP#2532
ALNHS
Sesamum indicum L.
UWAL0049658 Lee 01 Oct 2014 Hansen, Curtis J.
5881A
UWAL
Sesamum indicum L.
TROY000007693 Geneva 16 Aug 1998 MacDonald, John R.
11777
TROY
Sesamum orientale Linnaeus
ALNHS00004439 Lee 20 Jul 2016 Barger, T. Wayne
SP#2532
ALNHS
Sesamum indicum L.
UWAL0015925 Bullock 06 Aug 2012 Dykes, Bailee
1660
UWAL
Sesamum orientale L.
TROY000037655 Bullock 02 Aug 2013 Diamond, Alvin R.
24424
TROY
Sesamum orientale Linnaeus
UWAL0046279 Autauga 21 Sep 2017 Parker, Matthew R.
1300
UWAL
Sesamum indicum Linnaeus
UNA00043335 Mobile 25 Jul 1966 Deramus, Rebecca
D970
UNA
Sesamum indicum L.
UWAL0030079 Montgomery 24 Jul 2015 Diamond, Alvin R.
26633
UWAL
Sesamum orientale Linnaeus
TROY000042889 Montgomery 24 Jul 2015 Diamond, Alvin R.
26633
TROY
Sesamum orientale Linnaeus
UNA00056090 Geneva 16 Aug 1998 MacDonald, John R.
11777
UNA
Sesamum orientale L.
AUA000041275 Lee 1 Oct 2014 Hansen, Curtis J.
5881A
AUA
Sesamum Indicum L.
TROY000038228 Bullock 06 Aug 2013 Dykes, Bailee
1660
TROY
Sesamum orientale Linnaeus
TROY000038447 Pike 23 Aug 2013 Diamond, Alvin R.
24468
TROY
Sesamum orientale Linnaeus
TROY000048134 Autauga 21 Sep 2017 Parker, Matthew R.
1300
TROY
Sesamum indicum Linnaeus
UWAL0014895 Bullock 02 Aug 2013 Diamond, Alvin R.
24424
UWAL
Sesamum orientale Linnaeus
UWAL0015162 Pike 23 Aug 2013 Diamond, Alvin R.
24468
UWAL
Sesamum orientale Linnaeus
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