Biancaea decapetala

Biancaea decapetala commonly known as shoofly, Mauritius or Mysore thorn or the cat's claw is a tropical tree species originating in India.

Mauritius thorn
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Biancaea
Species:
B. decapetala
Binomial name
Biancaea decapetala
(Roth) O. Deg. 1936
Synonyms
  • Caesalpinia decapetala (Roth) Alston
Seed pods and seeds

Introduced range

B. decapetala has been introduced to Fiji, French Polynesia, Hawai‘i, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues, Kenya and South Africa. It has become a seriously problematic invasive species in many locations.

Description

B. decapetala is as a robust, thorny, evergreen shrub 2–4 m (6.6–13.1 ft) high or climber up to 10 m (33 ft) or higher; often forming dense thickets; the stems are covered with minute golden hair; the stem thorns are straight to hooked, numerous, and not in regular rows or confined to nodes. The leaves are dark green, paler beneath, not glossy, up to 300 mm (12 in) long; leaflets up to 8 mm (0.31 in) wide. The flowers are pale yellow, in elongated, erect clusters 100–400 mm (3.9–16 in) long. Fruit are brown, woody pods, flattened, unsegmented, smooth, sharply beaked at apex, about 80 mm (3.1 in) long.

Habit and reproduction

In Hawai‘i, where B. decapetala has the local name pōpoki, it forms impenetrable brambles, climbs high up trees, closes off pastures to animals and impedes forest pathways.[1] Trailing branches root where they touch the ground. The medium-sized seeds may be dispersed by rodents and granivorous birds and running water.

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References
  1. "HEAR description of Caesalpinia decapetala".
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