Caesalpinia major (Medik.) Dandy & Exell, Fabaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk; score: 10 (Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment for Caesalpinia major)

Other Latin names:  Bonduc majus Medik.; Caesalpinia globulorum Bakh. & P. Royen; Caesalpinia major sensu Brenan (misapplied to Caesalpinia volkensii Harms); Guilandina ovalifolia (Urb.) Britton

Common name(s): [more details]

English: yellow nickar, yellow nicker-bean

Niuean: talamoa, talamoa foto

Samoan: 'anaoso, se'u pe'a

Habit:  shrub/vine

Description:  "Liana or scandent shrub, which attains 15 m in length. Stems cylindrical, up to 2.5 cm in diameter, densely spiny. Leaves bipinnate, paripinnate, up to 60 cm long; pinnae 3-10 pairs, opposite; leaflets 4-8 pairs per pinna, opposite, 3.5-7.7 × 2.5-3.7 cm, elliptical, ovate, or oblong, chartaceous, glabrous or puberulent, the apex obtuse or acute, mucronate, the base unequal, rounded, or one side obtuse, the margins entire, revolute, ciliate; upper surface glabrous, slightly /shiny; lower surface with the midvein prominent, glabrous or puberulent; petiolules short, puberulent; petioles and rachis spiny, puberulent; stipules minute, deciduous. Flowers in axillary racemes, up to 30 cm long; rachis tomentulose, unarmed; bracts lanceolate, long-acuminate, ca. 1 cm long, deciduous. Calyx campanulate, 6-7 mm long, tomentose, the sepals reflexed, oblong. Petals yellow, 6-7 mm long, spathulate; stamens 10, the filaments unequal, shorter than the petals; ovary pubescent, the style and stigma glabrous. Legumes broadly oblong, 6-12 × 3-6 cm, sparsely spiny. Seeds ovoid or rounded, 1.5-2.5 cm long, yellow-orange." (Vines and Climbing Plants of PR/VI, pp. 235 & 237) [emphasis added by PIER].

Habitat/ecology:  "in the zone of mogotes" (Puerto Rico & the Virgin Islands) (Vines and Climbing Plants of PR/VI, p. 237)

On Ta'u (American Samoa): "Occasional in littoral habitats to montane forest, reported from sea level to 650 m elevation." (Botanical Inventory of Ta'u Unit, p. 49)

"Disturbed uplands, maritime hammock, rockland hammock." (NatureServe)

Propagation:  "A pantropical species with seeds capable of floating for great distances and remaining viable for a long time (Guppy, 1906, p. 189, etc.)." (Sykes, 1970, p. 54)

Native range:  Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Cuba, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Hispaniola (Vines and Climbing Plants of PR/VI, p. 237)

"pantropic in distribution" (Botanical Inventory of Ta'u Unit, p. 49)

Impacts and invaded habitats:  No invaded habitats or impacts are currently known by PIER. If you know of invaded habitats or impacts, please let us know.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
American Samoa American Samoa Islands	American Samoa Islands		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
American Samoa Manu‘a Islands	Olosega Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
American Samoa Manu‘a Islands	Ta‘u Island		Whistler, W. A. (1992) (p. 49) "TA'U: (not collected). Not seen, but reported by reliable sources to occur on the island, although possibly not within the park boundaries." (p. 49)
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced invasive	R.P. Randall (2007) "naturalised", accessed 20180916 ("page was created on 13 September 2007 by PT, and was last updated on 04 October 2007 by PT based on data from Rod Randall's Global Compendium of Weeds database dated 24 January 2007")
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Rota Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Chuuk Islands		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Fiji Islands		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Lau Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Tubuai Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Niue Niue	Niue Island		Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 54) Voucher cited: CHR 169767 (Fr.); "This prickly, scrambling shrub was said by Yuncker to be 'frequent in thickets' but today is very rare and apparently confined to a few patches of fernland scrub in the southern part of the island. I was told that people chop the plant out when they find it because of its unpleasant prickly nature, so this has probably contributed to its present scarcity." (Sykes, 1970, p. 54) "A pantropical species with seeds capable of floating for great distances and remaining viable for a long time (Guppy, 1906, p. 189, etc.)." (Sykes, 1970, p. 54)
Niue Niue	Niue Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Pitcairn Islands Pitcairn Islands	Pitcairn Islands		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Savai‘i Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Tonga Tonga Islands	Tonga Islands		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Palmyra Atoll	Menge Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Aniwa Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Êfaté (Efete) Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Erromango Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Espirito Santo Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)

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)	United States (other states)		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Caesalpinia major, please let us know.