Author: (L.) Roxb.
Morphological description
Liana up to 15 m. Branchlets usually armed with straight or recurved prickles (1–10 mm, ). Stipules subpersistent, pinnately or 3–5-lobed, lobes ovate, c. 5–20 mm long (bonduc Caesalp stip 256035 ;bonduc Caesalpinia stip/lfl FT1 ).
Leaves: rachis 15–80 cm long; pinnae 6–11 pairs, 8–20 cm long, rachis sometimes prolonged to 3 mm. Leaflets opposite to subopposite, 6–9(–12) pairs per pinna, petiolulate (c. 1 mm), ovate- or elliptic-oblong, 1–6.5 by 0.5–3 cm, base rounded, apex rounded to acute, rarely acuminate, mucronate (bonduc Caesalpinia stip/lfl FT1 ).
Inflorescences supra-axillary (bonduc Caesalpinia stip/lfl FT1 ) and terminal, racemose or paniculate, 30–60 cm long, the rachis densely hairy (bonduc Caesalp infl 256037); bracts lanceolate, 8–15 by c. 1 mm; pedicels 2–6 mm, articulated 0.5–1 mm below the flower.
(bonduc Caesalpinia infl/fl FT18 )
Flowers unisexual, buds ovoid, pubescent. Hypanthium c. 1 mm deep and 3 mm wide. Sepals 7–10 by 2–3 mm. Petals 7–10 by 2–3 mm, clawed (claw c. 3 mm long). Stamens: filaments 6–10 mm; anthers c. 1.25 mm long; staminodes in female flowers c. 6 mm. Pistil hairy; ovary c. 3 by 2 mm, densely set with c. 0.5 mm long spines, 2-ovuled; shortly stiped (c. 1 mm); style c. 3 mm, hairy; stigma ciliate; sterile pistil in male flowers rudimentary, c. 1 mm long, hairy.
Pods 6.5–9 by 3.5–4.5 cm, base acute, apex rounded with style-remnant to 8 mm long, dehiscent, hairy, more or less densely set with 5–10 mm long hairy spines; pedicels 0.5–1.5 cm (bonduc Caesalp pod/seed FT18 ; bonduc Caesalp pod/seed 256039 ;bonduc Caesalp y-pods 256038 ).
Seeds 1 or 2, ovoid to globular, 15–20 mm long, smooth, grey, with parallel lines concentric with the hilum.
Distribution
Pantropic. In Malesia all over, but distinctly scarce in the rain forest areas in Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines and western New Guinea.
Distribution pattern in Map-It after Hattink 1974, fig 3)
Habitat
Often found in coastal regions, also occurring inland, secondary forests, in eastern Malesia up to c. 850 m altitude.
Ecology
Flowers and fruits often occurring together without periodicity.