Fabaceae

Oahu riverhemp

Sesbania tomentosa Hook. & Arn.

Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Sesbania

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Oahu riverhemp: Sesbania tomentosa (flowers). Location: Maui, Kanaha Beach — Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons

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Common names

By language (4)

Arabic: سيسبان لبدي
arz: سيسبان لبدى
English: Oahu riverhemp, Oʻahu riverhemp
Hawaiian: Ohai, ʻOhai

Synonyms

Agati tomentosa (Hook. & Arn.) Nutt. ex A.Gray
Emerus tomentosus (Hook. & Arn.) Kuntze
Sesbania hawaiiensis O.Deg. & I.Deg.
Sesbania hobdyi O.Deg. & I.Deg.
Sesbania molokaiensis (O.Deg. & Sherff) O.Deg. & I.Deg.
Sesbania tomentosa var. molokaiensis O.Deg. & Sherff

Flowers

Flower colour: red (USDA PLANTS Database)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Shrub
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Hawaii: native, Puerto Rico: introduced

Photos

Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: David Eickhoff from Pearl City, Hawaii, USA, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: David Eickhoff from Pearl City, Hawaii, USA, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: David Eickhoff from Pearl City, Hawaii, USA, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: David Eickhoff from Pearl City, Hawaii, USA, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons

More in Sesbania

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.