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Pithecellobium unguis-cati
Fabaceae FAMILY

Pithecellobium unguis-cati

Pithecellobium unguis-cati

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitShrub
Growth—

With few exceptions, the plant grows in areas receiving less than 1,000 mm of annual precipitation[1]. Prefers a sunny position and a well-drained soil[1]. All soil textures appear to be tolerated[1]. The plant appears to tolerate salt spray and salty groundwater[1]. The plant has become naturalized in parts of Florida and has the potential to become a weed[1]. Produces a taproot and abundant lateral and fine roots[1]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria; these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[2].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Pithecellobium+unguis-cati>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
  2. [2]Nodulation Plants in GRIN Taxonomy — United States Department of Agriculture · http://www.ars-grin.gov/~sbmljw/cgi-bin/taxnodul.pl?language=en ↩︎An online database listing plants that have either positive or negative reports on root and stem nodulation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]The Useful and Ornamental Plants of Trinidad and Tobago. — Williams. R. O. & Williams. R. O. Jnr. · Self Published in Trinidad and Tobago. · 1951 ↩︎Terse details of a wide range of plants both native and introduced to Trinidad and Tobago. Gives a brief description of the plant and some of its local uses.
  5. [5]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  6. [6]Flowering Plants of Jamaica — Adams. C.D. · University of the West Indies; Jamaica. · 1972 ↩︎A terse treatment of the flowering plants of Jamaica, with a botanical description of each plant, notes on habitat etc.
  7. [7]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]Journal of the Arnold Arboretum. Vol. 59. — Harvard University; Boston, Mass. · 1978 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎A botanical magazine, it contains an Ethnoflora of Chokoloskee Island, Florida. It can be downloaded from the internet.
  9. [9]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region