Narratives Details:
Title:
Pithecellobium unguis-cati (L.) Benth.
Pithecellobium unguis-cati (L.) Benth.
Authors:
Nathaniel Lord Britton, Frances W. Horne
Nathaniel Lord Britton, Frances W. Horne
Scientific Name:
Pithecellobium unguis-cati (L.) Benth., Mimosa unguis-cati L.
Pithecellobium unguis-cati (L.) Benth., Mimosa unguis-cati L.
Description:
Flora Borinqueña Pithecellobium Unguis-cati Uña de gato Cat's-claw Family Mimosaceae Mimosa Family Mimosa Unguis-cati Linnaeus, Species Plantarum 517. 1753. Pithecellobium Unguis-cati Martius, Hortue Monacensis 188. 1829. The English, Spanish and specific botanical names of this shrub or small tree, frequent in coastal thickets and occasionally inland, all refer to the small, stiff, curved spines or prickles borne in pairs at the bases of the leaf-stalks, technically spine spinescent stipules; while usually thus armed, plants occasionally occur on which the prickles are not developed; while plentiful within saline influence it is evidently not dependent upon this; growing vigorously along the Coamo River well away from the sea, and on hillsides near the southern coast. The range of this species is very wide, extending throughout the West Indies, to southern Florida and northern South America, and showing much variation. Crab Prickle is another popular name, referring to its common occurrence in places inhabitated by crabs; its black seeds have given it the name Black-bead, and the Spanish name Rolon is also associated with it. A related species, Pithecellobium dulce, a usually nearly or quite unarmed, taller tree, native of Central and South America, is commonly planted for shade and ornament. Pithecellobium (Greek, a monkey's earing, with reference to the coiled or contorted pods), is a tropical American genus of about 20 species, of shrubs and trees. They have compound leaves with few broad leaflets, and small, densely clustered flowers either in globose heads or slender spikes. The minute calyx has 5 or 6 teeth; the corolla is 5-lobed or 6-lobed; the many, long-exserted stamens are partly united by their filaments, into a tube, and the anthers are very small; the ovary contains several or many ovules, the style is slender, the stigma round. The pod is characteristically contorted, splitting longitudinally and exposing the round seeds, which are partly surrounded by an aril. Pithecellobium Unguis-cati is usually a shrub, but sometimes forms a tree up to about 8 meters in height; its twigs are smooth and slender, the spines 2 centimeters long, or shorter. The leafstalks are from 5 to 20 millimeters long and bear a small, round gland at the top; there are 2 leaf-divisions, each with 1 pair of obovate or oblong, thin, blunt leaflets from 1 to 5 centimeters long. The slender-stalked, globose heads of smooth flowers are clustered at the ends of branches and often numerous; the calyx is about 2 millimeters long, the corolla 5 or 6 millimeters long, the stamens yellowish or pink. The red, coiled or curved pod is flattened, somewhat constricted between the seeds, from 5 to 12 centimeters long, about 7 millimeters wide, the black, shining seeds 4 to 6 millimeters broad.
Flora Borinqueña Pithecellobium Unguis-cati Uña de gato Cat's-claw Family Mimosaceae Mimosa Family Mimosa Unguis-cati Linnaeus, Species Plantarum 517. 1753. Pithecellobium Unguis-cati Martius, Hortue Monacensis 188. 1829. The English, Spanish and specific botanical names of this shrub or small tree, frequent in coastal thickets and occasionally inland, all refer to the small, stiff, curved spines or prickles borne in pairs at the bases of the leaf-stalks, technically spine spinescent stipules; while usually thus armed, plants occasionally occur on which the prickles are not developed; while plentiful within saline influence it is evidently not dependent upon this; growing vigorously along the Coamo River well away from the sea, and on hillsides near the southern coast. The range of this species is very wide, extending throughout the West Indies, to southern Florida and northern South America, and showing much variation. Crab Prickle is another popular name, referring to its common occurrence in places inhabitated by crabs; its black seeds have given it the name Black-bead, and the Spanish name Rolon is also associated with it. A related species, Pithecellobium dulce, a usually nearly or quite unarmed, taller tree, native of Central and South America, is commonly planted for shade and ornament. Pithecellobium (Greek, a monkey's earing, with reference to the coiled or contorted pods), is a tropical American genus of about 20 species, of shrubs and trees. They have compound leaves with few broad leaflets, and small, densely clustered flowers either in globose heads or slender spikes. The minute calyx has 5 or 6 teeth; the corolla is 5-lobed or 6-lobed; the many, long-exserted stamens are partly united by their filaments, into a tube, and the anthers are very small; the ovary contains several or many ovules, the style is slender, the stigma round. The pod is characteristically contorted, splitting longitudinally and exposing the round seeds, which are partly surrounded by an aril. Pithecellobium Unguis-cati is usually a shrub, but sometimes forms a tree up to about 8 meters in height; its twigs are smooth and slender, the spines 2 centimeters long, or shorter. The leafstalks are from 5 to 20 millimeters long and bear a small, round gland at the top; there are 2 leaf-divisions, each with 1 pair of obovate or oblong, thin, blunt leaflets from 1 to 5 centimeters long. The slender-stalked, globose heads of smooth flowers are clustered at the ends of branches and often numerous; the calyx is about 2 millimeters long, the corolla 5 or 6 millimeters long, the stamens yellowish or pink. The red, coiled or curved pod is flattened, somewhat constricted between the seeds, from 5 to 12 centimeters long, about 7 millimeters wide, the black, shining seeds 4 to 6 millimeters broad.
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