Caesalpinia sappan L., Fabaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chamorro: sibukao

Chinese: su mu

English: Brazilwood, Indian redwood, sappan, sappanwood

French: bois de sappan

Spanish: campêche sappan

Habit:  shrub/tree

Description:  "Caesalpinia sappan is a small to medium-sized, shrubby tree, 4-8(-10) m tall; trunk up to 14 cm in diameter; bark with distinct ridges and many prickles, greyish brown; young twigs and buds hairy, brownish. Leaves stipulate, bipinnate, alternate, 20-45(-50) cm long, 10-20 cm broad, with 8-16 pairs of up to 20 cm long pinnae; pinnae with prickles at the base and with 10-20 pairs of oblong, 10-20 mm x 6-10 mm long, subsessile leaflets, very oblique at base, rounded to emarginated at apex. Flowers in terminal panicles, racemes pubescent, primary peduncles 30-40 cm long, the flowering 9-15 cm long, bracts ovate-acuminate, about 6 mm long, flowers fragrant, 2-3 cm long, 5-merous; sepals glabrous, petals pubescent, the superior one smaller; calyx tube 3 mm long; corolla yellow, uppermost lobes cuneate, other obovate, all clawed and gland-punctate; stamens 10, filaments densely tomentose in the lower half; ovary superior, pubescent. Fruit a dehiscent pod, glabrous, thick, flattened, obliquely oblong, prominently beaked, woody, polished-brown, 7-10 cm x 3-4 cm, 2-3(-5) seeded. Seeds ellipsoid, flattened, 18-20 mm x 10-12 mm, brown" (World AgroForestryTree database).

"A small tree to 5-6 m tall, the branches with scattered prickles.  Leaves to 50 cm long; pinnae about 20 pairs, each with 10-15 pairs of oblong marked obliquely inequilateral leaflets, less than 2 cm long; flowers showy, 2.5 cm broad, yellow, in racemes; stamens woolly-pubescent on the proximal half; pods hard, indehiscent, glossy, broad, 7.5-10 cm long by 4 cm wide, beaked at apex, beak ± recurved; seeds 3-4"  (Stone, 1970; pp. 308-309).

Habitat/ecology:  "Under natural conditions C. sappan grows mostly in hilly areas with clayey soil and calcareous rocks at low and medium altitudes. In Peninsular Malaysia it grows best on sandy riverbanks. It does not tolerate too wet soil conditions" (World AgroForestryTree database).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  India, Myanmar and Malaysia (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 308).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Rota Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 97)
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 97)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 95-96) Vouchers cited: DA 12349, DA 5650, DA 15374
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (pp. 308-309)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 97)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	uncertain if introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 21) Cultivated only
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	uncertain if introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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 cultivated	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Naturalisé"

Comments:  Naturalized in La Réunion per Christophe Lavergne, pers. com.

Additional information:
Information from the ASEAN Tropical Plant Database.

Additional online information about Caesalpinia sappan is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Caesalpinia sappan as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Caesalpinia sappan may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Lavergne, Christophe. 2006. List des especes exotiques envahissantes a La Reunion. Unpublished manuscript (Excel file). .

Smith, Albert C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 3. 758 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).