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Caesalpinia decapetala

Common name:	Mysore Thorn	Family:	Leguminosae
Author:	(Roth.)Alston.	Botanical references:	11, 200
Synonyms:	Caesalpinia sepiaria (Roxb.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - Himalayas to China.
Habitat:	Hedges and open bushy places[146]. Swampy localities and ravines to 1800 metres[158].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Biancaea sepiaria[B,P] C. japonica[G] Reichardia decapetala[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Ma Tou [E], Shoofly [B,P], T'Ien Tou [E], Yun Shih [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	apetala = without petals decapetala = 10 petaled
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fabales. Renamed to Fabaceae -- Pea family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 3m. It is hardy to zone 8. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. It can fix Nitrogen. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anthelmintic Antiperiodic Astringent Emmenagogue Febrifuge Laxative Purgative.

Anthelmintic, antiperiodic, astringent, febrifuge[158, 178].
The leaves are emmenagogue and laxative[240, 243]. They are applied externally to burns[240, 243].
The root is purgative[240, 243].

Other Uses

Hedge Tannin Wood.

The bark is a rich source of tannin[158, 272].
Plants are often grown as field boundaries in Nepal[272]. An excellent hedge plant[240]. However, due to its doubtful hardiness it is not a good candidate for this use in Britain.
Wood - moderately hard[146].

Cultivation details

Requires a sunny position[11], succeeding in any moderately fertile well-drained soil[200] including limy soils[182].
This species is on the borderline of hardiness in Britain. However, C. japonica, which is considered to be no more than a variety of this species by many botanists, succeeds on a wall at Wisley to the west of London and is said to be hardy to about -10° c[184]. Its natural range is Japan where it grows at heights up to 2000 metres on rocky mountain slopes in the cooler regions of the country[11, 200].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].
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[200].

Propagation

Seed - pre-soak for 12 - 24 hours in warm water and sow in a greenhouse in early spring[200]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter, planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Softwood cuttings in sand in a frame[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Caesalpinia sepiaria (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[146] Gamble. J. S. A Manual of Indian Timbers. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1972
Written last century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.

[158] Gupta. B. L. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. Forest Research Institute Press 1945
A good flora for the middle Himalayan forests, sparsly illustrated. Not really for the casual reader.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. 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.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[243] Medicinal Plants of Nepal Dept. of Medicinal Plants. Nepal. 1993
Terse details of the medicinal properties of Nepalese plants, including cultivated species and a few imported herbs.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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