Coffee senna (Senna occidentalis)

Senna occidentalis, coffee senna or kasondi, is a foul-smelling weed of roadsides and fields across India. Its roasted seeds were once used as a coffee substitute. Its seeds are toxic. In western Uttar Pradesh, outbreaks of a deadly brain-and-muscle illness in children were traced to eating them. It should be treated as a poisonous plant.

Botanical name: Senna occidentalis (L.) Link
Family: Fabaceae
Tamil: Peyavirai
Hindi: Kasondi
Parts used: Seeds (historical coffee substitute — not food here)
Habit: Waste senna; shop senna is a genus word
Last updated: 2026-10-26

How to recognise Coffee senna

It is an upright annual or short-lived shrub, about a metre tall, with pinnate leaves of four to six pairs of pointed leaflets. The leaves smell unpleasant when crushed.

Yellow, five-petalled flowers grow in small clusters in the leaf axils.

The pods are long, narrow, slightly curved and flattened, holding many small, flat, dull brown seeds.

Candle bush, Senna alata, is much larger, with upright golden flower spikes and winged pods.

Traditional use of Coffee senna

Historical coffee substitute

In parts of Africa and the Americas the roasted seeds were brewed as a coffee substitute, which gave the English name.

Historical practice

Folk practice

Leaves and roots have been used in Indian folk preparations.

Indian folk practice

Modern notes on Coffee senna

Studies of outbreaks among children in western Uttar Pradesh, after they ate the seeds and pods, linked the plant to a severe, often fatal disease affecting the liver, muscles and brain.

It is also a well-known cause of poisoning in cattle, pigs and poultry.

Coffee senna safety

Do not eat the seeds or pods, and teach children not to. If a child is unwell after eating them, take the child to hospital immediately.

Ecology and sourcing

It is native to tropical America and now a pantropical weed of roadsides, fields and wasteland.

Its seeds contaminate harvested grain, which is one way livestock are poisoned.

It grows readily in disturbed soil after the rains.

Related plants

Also in Fabaceae

Questions about Coffee senna

Is Coffee senna safe as a coffee substitute?

No. Its seeds are toxic.

What older names does Senna occidentalis go by?

Cassia occidentalis.

Why is Coffee senna dangerous to children?

Eating the seeds has caused fatal illness.

Sources

Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.