Caesalpinia decapetala
(Mysore thorn)

Preferred Scientific Name

• Caesalpinia decapetala (Roth) Alston

Preferred Common Name

• Mysore thorn

Other Scientific Names

• Biancaea scandens Tod.
• Biancaea sepiaria (Roxb.) Tod.
• Bianceae decapetala (Roth) O. Deg.
• Caesalpinia benguetensis Elmer
• Caesalpinia decapetala var. japonica (Siebold & Zucc.) H. Ohashi
• Caesalpinia ferox Hassk.
• Caesalpinia japonica Siebold & Zucc.
• Caesalpinia sepiaria Roxb.
• Caesalpinia sepiaria var. japonica (Siebold & Zucc.) Gagnep.
• Caesalpinia sepiaria var. japonica (Siebold & Zucc.) Hand.-Mzt.
• Caesalpinia sepiaria var. japonica (Siebold & Zucc.) Makino
• Mezoneuron benguetense (Elmer) Elmer
• Reichardia decapetala Roth

International Common Names

• English: cat’s claws; cat's-claw; Mauritius-thorn; thorny poinciana; wait-a-bit; wait-a-while; woody wait-a-while
• Spanish: agarra ladrón; chembé bolé; chícara cimarrona; zarza de cercas
• French: brésillet du Japon; césalpinie du Japon
• Chinese: yun shi

Local Common Names

• Australia: Mauritius thorn; shoofly; tiger stopper; whoa back
• Germany: Cäsalpinie, Japanische; Mauritius-dorn
• Haiti: chembe bolo; ti-janvier; tijavier
• India/Indian Punjab: aila; chillari; gilo; karur; kurutu-gajjika; relan
• Indonesia: areuy matahiyang gunung
• Indonesia/Nusa Tenggara: secang lembut
• Italy: cesalpinia giapponese
• Japan: jaketsu-ibara
• Lesser Antilles: arrête-boeuf; caniroc
• Myanmar: sukyanbo
• South Africa: kraaldoring (Afrikaans); ubobo-encane (Zulu); ufenisi
• Thailand: kamchai
• Vietnam: vu'ôt hùm

EPPO code

• CAEJA (Caesalpinia japonica)
• CAESE (Caesalpinia sepiaria)

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Fabales
•                         Family: Fabaceae
•                             Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
•                                 Genus: Caesalpinia
•                                     Species: Caesalpinia decapetala

The genus Caesalpinia has undergone much taxonomic change, with numerous synonymous genera having been described and/or postulated. It is a pantropical genus of trees, shrubs, woody scandent, and prickly climbers comprising approximately 157 species distributed throughout the world principally in tropical regions (ILDIS, 2014; Stevens, 2012). The leaves of all Caesalpinia are bipinnate, some very large with numerous leaflets, the flowers are in spikes from the upper leaf axils and may be quite showy, mostly in shades of red and yellow with separate petals and often conspicuous stamens. The seeds are in typical leguminous pods (Starr et al., 2003).  

A variety of this species, var. japonica (Siebold & Zucc.) H. Ohashi has been described, based on the synonym Caesalpinia sepiaria Roxb. var. japonica (Siebold & Zucc.) Gagnep., but it is uncertain whether this is widely accepted.

C. decapetala is a robust and sprawling shrub or climber 0.5-10 m tall, with numerous straight to hooked thorns on the stems. Bipinnately compound leaves are dark green above, paler beneath, up to 30 cm long, with deciduous stipules 8-20 mm long. The leaf rachis is armed with downwardly hooked prickles. Each leaf consists of 3-15 pairs of pinnae, each pinna having 5-12 pairs of leaflets, elliptic-oblong to ovate, rounded at the apex, 10-22 mm long, 4-11 mm wide. Flowers are pale yellow, 25-30 mm diameter, borne in axillary and terminal racemes 10-40 cm long, petals 10-15 cm long and 8-15 mm wide. Fruits are dehiscent pods 6-11 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, containing 4-9 black ellipsoid, flattened, black seeds 8-12 mm long and 6-8 mm wide (Weber, 2003).

C. decapetala was introduced around the world as an ornamental, hedge and erosion control species, and has been reported to tend towards weediness in some situations such as in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands. It is known to have been introduced to New Zealand in 1965 and has subsequently become invasive (Haley, 2003). ). In Hawaii, C. decapetala was first recorded in 1888 (Starr et al., 2003). In The West Indies, C. decapelata was first recorded in Puerto Rico in 1900 (US National Herbarium). In South Africa C. decapetala was introduced around 1904, and by 1961 it is reported as invasive in the Kruger National Park (Foxcroft et al., 2007). 

Soil drainage

• free

Soil texture

• heavy
• light
• medium

Special soil tolerances

• shallow

C. decapetala seeds may be dispersed by water, birds, small mammals and livestock, notably cattle in South Africa (Dean et al., 1986; Weber, 2003). The species has been widely introduced to form a security barrier against people or wild animals, and is also regarded as a striking ornamental. For these and other reasons it has been widely introduced by man outside its native range and has subsequently become invasive in several tropical countries.

C. decapetala is one of a number of species that can impede forestry operations in managed plantations, and constitute a fire hazard (Geldenhuys et al., 1986).

It is extremely thorny and aggressive. It climbs on vegetation, has a smothering habit, and makes walking impossible. In Hawaii, C. decapetala presents a huge problem for ranches and has the capability to take over large areas of land, which may make pasture unavailable to grazing animals and restrict movement through forests. In addition, C. decapetala can engulf native forest and water delivery systems (Starr et al., 2003). 

C. decapetala is regarded as a 'transformer' species in South Africa, Australia, and Hawaii for its ability to alter the environmental conditions of areas it has invaded. It is able to climb over and outcompete other vegetation, so changing the composition of the vegetative assemblage. C. decapetala can form dense thickets, and when it climbs over indigenous species its weight in the canopy may cause the physical collapse of the tree it grows over (Geldenhuys et al., 1986). In Australia, C. decapetala is listed as an environmental weed of subtropical rainforest and remnant and can engulf fences, sheds, bridges and other infrastructure. It is difficult and dangerous to remove due to its covering of sharp recurved thorns. Its dense thickets can restrict water flows and modify waterways (Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, 2011). In South Africa, this species invades riverine habitats, forest margins, and savannas, shading out native vegetation and causing the collapse of adult trees.  

• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Highly adaptable to different environments
• Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
• Highly mobile locally
• Has high reproductive potential

• Damaged ecosystem services
• Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
• Negatively impacts agriculture
• Reduced native biodiversity

• Competition - monopolizing resources
• Produces spines, thorns or burrs

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately
• Difficult/costly to control

C. decapetala forms dense thickets and hedges useful for pasture demarcation and boundaries, and it is also used as a shade tree. The bark has tanning properties, while the seeds are locally important for medicinal uses including anthelminthic, antipyretic, analgesic and possibly contraceptive properties. This species is also used to treat dysentery, malaria and neuraligia. In South Africa, where it has become invasive, it is used for security hedging (because of the thorns) and as an ornamental (Henderson, 2001). It has been introduced and used in forestry in Botswana, but owing to its invasiveness in nearby South Africa, it has been recommended that production of this species should stop in Botswana until the risk has been evaluated (Buss, 2002).