Caesalpinia decapetala (Roth) Alston, Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 20 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Caesalpinia japonica Siebold & Zucc.; Caesalpinia septaria Roxb.; Reichardia decapetala Roth

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: yun shi

English: Mauritius thorn, Mysore thorn, cat's claw, thorny poinciana, wait-a-bit, wait-a-while, woody wait-a-while

French: bois sappan, liane sappan, sappan

Hawaiian: pōpoki, puakelekino

Japanese: jaketsu-ibara

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Climbers, with copious prickles. Bark dull red. Branches, rachis of leaves, and inflorescence with recurved prickles and pubescent. Leaves 20-30 cm; pinnae 3-10 pairs, opposite, with prickles in pairs at base; stipules obliquely ovate, apex acuminate, caducous; leaflets 8-12 pairs, oblong, 1-2.5 cm x 6-12 mm, membranous, both surfaces puberulent, glabrescent when old, both ends obtuse-rounded. Racemes terminal, 15-30 cm, with abundant flowers; rachis densely prickly. Pedicels 3-4 cm, hairy, jointed at apex so flowers easily fall off. Sepals 5, oblong, puberulent. Petals reflexed at anthesis, yellow, orbicular or obovate, 1-1.2 cm, membranous, base shortly clawed. Stamens subequal to petals in length; filaments compressed at base, lanate in lower part. Ovary glabrous. Legume chestnut-brown, shiny, oblong-ligulate, 6-12 x 2.5-3 cm, fragile-leathery, glabrous, dehiscent and thickened to a narrow wing along ventral suture when ripe, apex prolonged into a sharp beak. Seeds 6-9, brown, elliptic, ca. 11 x 6 mm"  (Flora of China online).

"Robust, thorny, evergreen shrub 2-4 m high or climber up to 10 m or higher; often forming dense thickets; stems minutely golden-hairy; stem thorns ± straight to hooked, numerous, not in regular rows or confined to nodes.  Leaves:  Dark green, paler beneath, not glossy, up to 300 mm long; leaflets up to 8 mm wide.  Flowers:  Pale yellow, in elongated, erect clusters 100-400 mm long.  Fruits:  Brown, woody pods, flattened, unsegmented, smooth, sharply beaked at apex, ± 80 mm long"  (Henderson, 1995; p. 66).

Habitat/ecology:  This deciduous, sprawling, noxious shrub, with numerous spines, forms impenetrable thickets. The plant is confined to dry to mesic lowland habitats (C.W. Smith, 1985; p. 187). In Hawai‘i, "naturalized along roadsides, near abandoned house sites, and other disturbed areas, 0-250m" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 647); "occurs in moist forests, pastures, waste lands and roadsides"  (Motooka et al., 2003).

"Forms impenetrable brambles, climbs high up trees. Closes off pastures to animals, impedes passage in forests.  A hazard to animals, which can become trapped in thickets"  (Motooka et al., 2003). In New Caledonia, "n'est plus planté mais forme localement des fourrés denses impénétrables, surtout en forêts-galeries dégradées" (MacKee, 1994; p. 72).

Propagation:  The medium-sized seeds may be dispersed by rodents and granivorous birds, but man is almost certainly the principal dispersal agent in Hawai‘i (C.W. Smith, 1985; p. 187).

Native range:  Temperate and tropical eastern Asia; widely cultivated and naturalized in tropics and subtropics (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 8) "A native of SE Asia which has sometimes been used as a hedge plant but is now naturalised, mainly in the Melanesian Mission area". Vouchers cited: P.S. Green 1412 (A); G. Uhe 1183 (K); M. Rafferty 3 & B. Reid (CBG); R.M. Laing (CHR); 1902, J.H. Maiden & J.L. Boorman (NSW)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 95) Voucher cited: Tothill 124
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Adventice
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 647)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 647)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2006) (p. 35) Voucher cited: Starr, Starr, Anderson & Anderson 050623-1 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 647) East Maui
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2006) (p. 35) Established in Waiakalae Gulch.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Ni‘ihau Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 647)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 647)
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 99) "Degraded forest"
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands	introduced invasive	Gargominy, Oliver/Bouchet, Philipe/Pascal, Michel/Jaffre, Tanguy/Tourneu, Jean-Christophe (1996) (p. 381) Forme localement des fourrés denses impénétrables, surtout en forêts-galeries dégradées.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 72) Vouchers cited: Vieillard 397, Eloin s.n. (BR), Balansa 314, Däniker 1831 (Z), Buchholz 1043, MacKee 13360, MacKee 33339
New Zealand (offshore islands) Kermadec Islands	Raoul Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 95)
New Zealand (offshore islands) Kermadec Islands	Raoul Island	introduced invasive	Sykes, W. R. (1977) (p. 79)
New Zealand (offshore islands) Kermadec Islands	Raoul Island	introduced invasive	Sykes, W. R./West, C. J. (1996) (p. 459) Subject of eradication program.
New Zealand (offshore islands) Kermadec Islands	Raoul Island	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 636) "an aggressive weed on Raoul Id, even invading forest".
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 268) In thickets about limestone cliffs and boulders, altitude about 1,200 m.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	introduced invasive	Australian Biological Resources Study (2013)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	Australian Biological Resources Study (2013)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) "Among bushes on mountain slopes, ravines, plains, hills, by riversides; near sea level to 1800 m".
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 134)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Japan Japan	Japan	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Japan Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu Islands	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
North Korea North Korea	North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South Korea South Korea	South Korea (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Taiwan Taiwan Island	Taiwan Island	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) "Among bushes on mountain slopes, ravines, plains, hills, by riversides; near sea level to 1800 m".
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	MacDonald, I. A. W./Thebaud, C./Strahm, W. A./Strasberg, D. (1991) (pp. 51-61)
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Envahissant"
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	Kueffer, C./Lavergne, C. (2004) (p. 5)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Rodrigues Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized

Comments:  On Raoul, Kermadec Islands, but subject to an eradication program. Declared a noxious weed in South Africa.

Control: 

Chemical:  "Sensitive to foliar applications of glyphosate and triclopyr, and to soil applications of tebuthiuron. Adequate coverage of catsclaw foliage in dense infestations is difficult. Timely repeat applications (3-9 months) of triclopyr ester at 0.25 lb/acre allows gradual reductions and opening of the canopy and eventual control. This strategy not only stresses the catsclaw over a longer period but also controls newly germinated catsclaw seedlings. Accessible stems may be treated basal bark with triclopyr ester at 20% product in diesel or crop oil in very-low volume applications" (Motooka et al., 2003).