30 CAESALPINIACEAE 
Caesalpinia 
CAESALPINIA L. 
A predominantly New World genus of c. 200 species; 11 species in Australia, 1 in the NT. 
C. bonduc (L.) Roxb. 
Evergreen scrambler or shrub to 3 m; vegetative 
parts with rusty or silvery puberulous hairs, leaflets 
sometimes glabrous except for margins and main 
veins. Stipules persistent, foliaceous, irregularly 
divided, to 17 mm long. Leaves bipinnate, terminated 
by a bristle or a pinna, pinnae and leaflets 
subtended by stout, recurved spines which are also 
scattered on rachis, rachis 150-630 mm long; pinnae 
4-11 pairs, 55-150 mm long and terminated by a 
bristle; 6-10 pairs of leaflets per pinna; leaflets 6-10 
pairs per pinna, discolorous, oblong, ovate or elliptic, 
asymmetric, 15-48 mm long, 9-23 mm wide, L/W 
1.3-2.5, apiculate. Inflorescence of axillary or 
terminal racemes to 320 mm long; pedicels 3-4 mm 
long; bracts caducous, narrowly elliptic, to 10 mm 
long; bracteoles absent. Flowers hermaphrodite or 
male. Hypanthium c. 2 mm long. Sepals 5, unequal, 
oblong to oblanceolate, 6-10 mm long, densely 
puberulous, minute clavate hairs on margin. Petals 
5, cream to yellow, one slightly different in size and 
shape, spathulate, claw densely hairy, limb glabrous, 
reflexed, 5.5-11 mm long. Stamens 10, free, 
alternating long and short; filament pilose in basal 
half; anthers versatile. Ovary stipitate, hairy; ovules 
2; style stout, c. 3 mm long, hairy; stigma sunken 
into style and surrounded by a ring of hairs. 
Pods brown, stipitate, echinate, inflated, tardily 
dehiscent, broadly oblong, 48-80 x 30-45 mm, style 
persistent. Seeds 2, grey, often with pale bands, 
globular, 16-20 mm diam., hard, ecarunculate. 
Flowering: Jan - Apr; fruits persisting for most of the 
year. Fig. 13 
Pantropic and common in the DR. The fruits and 
seeds are buoyant and water dispersed. Grows on 
beaches above high tide. 
CASSIA L. 
BA circumtropical genus which in the restricted sense of the genus has only about 30 species. One introduced 
species in the Top End. [Randell, 1988] 
*C, fistula L. 
Deciduous tree to 10 m; glabrous or almost so; bark 
smooth, pale. Stipules setaceous, 2 mm long. Leaves 
paripinnate, rachis 160-265 mm long; stipellae 
absent; leaflets 3-5 pairs, discolorous, elliptic or ovate, 
100-210 mm long, 50-90 mm wide, L/W 1.75-2.3. 
Inflorescence of pendulous, axillary racemes, to 
380 mm long. Bracts caducous, linear-lanceolate, 
7 mm long; bracteoles at base of peduncle, caducous. 
Peduncle 28-40 mm long; pedicel c. 2 mm long. 
Sepals 5, equal, free, ovate to obovate, 6.5-9 mm long. 
Petals 5, equal, free, shortly clawed, yellow, 
elliptic to obovate, 17-21 mm long. Stamens 10, 
free, of varying length, opening by longitudinal 
slits. Ovary stipitate, slightly hairy; ovules 
numerous; style short, stout; stigma vaginate. Pods 
dark brown, cylindrical, indehiscent, woody, on 
stipe c. 10 mm long, to 470 mm long, 20-25 mm diam. 
Seeds numerous, transverse, discoid, c. 20 mm diam., 
enveloped by sticky brown aromatic pulp. Flowering: 
late Dry season; fruits persisting throughout 
year. Fig. 13 Golden Shower, Golden Rain Tree 
Native to India and Sri Lanka. Widely planted and 
persisting at abandoned sites. In the DR naturalised 
at Channel Island. The edible pulp around the seeds 
has purgative properties (Macmillan, 1991). 
CHAMAECRISTA Moench 
Annual forbs or shrubs. Stipules striate, persistent, narrow-triangular. Leaves pinnate, terminated by a 
bristle. Bracts and bracteoles persistent. Sepals 5, free. Petals 5, clawed, free, yellow, often drying reddish. 
Stamens free, stout, unequal; anthers c. equal to filament or longer, opening by terminal pores, ultimately 
