Sesamum radiatum

Benniseed is a portmanteau of both the word benne and seed. Benne, meaning sesame derives from Gullah benne which is akin to Malinke bĕne. ==Use==

Culinary The seeds are eaten whole, made into a paste, ground into a powder, or pressed for a high-quality oil. Medicinally The leaves are also used medicinally as a laxative, an antidote to scorpion venom and to treat sprains and ease childbirth. The stem and bark have also been noted for their anti-bacterial properties. ==Cultivation==

This plant is an annual herb growing up to tall. The leaves are opposite, or toward the top of the plant, alternately arranged. The leaves are lance-shaped to oval and up to long. They may be smooth-edged or serrated. Flowers occur singly in the leaf axils. They are pink to purple in color, sometimes white, and somewhat bell-shaped. They measure up to long. The fruit is a capsule up to long which contains seeds roughly long. This plant grows wild in savanna and other habitat types. It is also a weed of fields and homesteads. It can grow on poor, rocky soils and it flowers even through drought conditions. When cultivated the plant yields of leaves per hectare. This plant is vulnerable to the leaf spot disease Cercospora sesami. It is also attacked by hawk moths (Sphingidae), the moth Antigastra catalaunalis, and the vegetable bug Nezara viridula. ==References==