WorldFloraDB - Adenanthera pavonina

Characteristics

Small to medium-sized tree, c. 25-40 m high and 45 cm in diameter; branchlets glabrous (rarely puberulous); stipules filiform, 0.5 mm, puberulous, caducous. Leaves: rachis (15-)20-55 cm, adaxially sulcate, glabrous, pinnae (2-)3-6 pairs, (6.5-)8-20 cm, glabrous or puberulous adaxially; petiolules 1.5-2 mm, glabrous; leaflets 4—9(—11) on each side of the pinnae, thinly chartaceous, drying light brown to dull grey-green above and light grey-green beneath, elliptic to ovate or obovate-elliptic, 1.5-4.5 by 1-2.2 cm; basiscopic part of base broadly cuneate, acroscopic part truncate to rounded, apex rounded to truncate, often mucronulate; upper surface glabrous with indistinct veins, lower surface appressed puberulous, with 8-10 veins per leaflet-half, straight, parallel, anastomosing, prominulous. Racemes (incl. peduncle) 12-30 cm, glabrous or slightly puberulous, often with a few scattered glandular hairs; bracts lanceolate, 0.5 mm, puberulous; pedicels 2.5-6 mm, glabrous or sparsely appressed puberulous. Flowers white to yellowish, turning dark yellow after an-thesis. Calyx 0.8-1 mm, subrotate to broadly cup-shaped, glabrous or sparsely appressed puberulous; teeth inconspicuous or rounded, c. 0.2 mm. Petals 3-5 mm, oblong, acute, glabrous or sparsely appressed puberulous. Stamens 3.8-5.5 mm. Ovary 2.5-3 mm, glabrous or with a few scattered hairs only, style 2-2.5 mm, about as long as the ovary. Pod brown, linear-falcate, 25 by 1.3-1.8 cm, usually ± straight prior to dehiscence, contorted to spirally twisted after dehiscence, with up to 25 seeds. Seeds uniformly bright scarlet-red, ellipsoid, suborbicular or obovoid, (7-)8-9 by 7-9.5 mm, up to 6.5 mm thick, convex; pleurogram c. 1-1.5 mm from and parallel to the margin, open towards the hilum.

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A deciduous tree up to 7-20 m high. It spreads to 4 m across. It loses many of its leaves during the hot dry season of the year. The stem is erect and slender. The bark is smooth and light brown. The leaves are green and divided twice into leaflets. The whole leaf is 30-45 cm long. The leaf is divided into 3-5 pairs of segments 10-15 cm long. Each is divided again into 10-18 alternate oblong leaflets. These are 1.7-4 cm long by 0.8-2 cm wide. These leaflets are dark green on top and paler underneath. The flowers are small and white or yellow. They occur at the ends of branches. The fruit is a long (20 cm) dark brown pod with red seeds. The pod twists up as it opens. The seeds are shiny red and hard and 0.7-1 cm across. The pods remain on the tree long after ripening. It is a legume.

Trees 4–20 m. high.. Young branchlets usually glabrous.. Leaves up to 40 cm. long; pinnae 3–5 pairs; leaflets 5–9 on each side of the pinna-rhachis, elliptic to ovate-or obovate-elliptic, 1.5–4.5 cm. long, 1.2–2.3 cm. wide, shortly petiolulate, rounded at apex, minutely puberulous especially beneath (use × 20 lens).. Racemes 9–26 cm. long, glabrous or slightly puberulous; pedicels 2–3.5 cm. long.. Flowers yellowish.. Calyx 0.75–1 mm. long, usually glabrous.. Petals 3–4.5 mm. long.. Stamen-filaments 2.5–4 mm. long.. Pods 18–22 cm. long, 1.3–1.7 cm. wide, brown outside, after dehiscence the valves reflexing spirally to show the satiny-yellow inner surface and the rather persistent, scarlet, elliptic-lenticular, glossy seeds which are 8–10 × 7–9 mm.

Tree to 27 m tall, glabrous except sometimes branchlets and leaf axes ±puberulous. Pinnae (2–) 3-or 4 (–6)-jugate; leaflets 8-16, alternate, elliptic, oval or oblong, rounded-obtuse, 15–40 mm long, 10–25 mm wide, usually glabrous. Inflorescence racemose, 8–21 cm long. Flowers with pedicels 3–4 mm long, cream-coloured, becoming yellow; calyx shallowly cupular, c. 1 mm long with small teeth, glabrous or ± appressed-puberulous; petals 3 mm long, glabrous or sparsely appressed-puberulous. Pod linear, to 20 cm long, 14–17 mm wide, coriaceous, glabrous; valves tightly coiled or spirally twisted after dehiscence. Seeds ovaloid, oblongoid, widely obovoid or circular, compressed, 8–9.5 mm long, scarlet, glossy.

Life form	perennial
Growth form	tree
Growth support	free-standing
Foliage retention	deciduous
Sexuality	hermaphrodite
Pollination	entomogamy
Spread	-
Mature width (meter)	4.0
Mature height (meter)	18.0
Root system	-
Rooting depth (meter)	-
Root diameter (meter)	-
Flower color
Blooming months	-
Fruit color	-
Fruiting months	-
Nitrogen fixer	present
Photosynthetic pathway	c3

Environment

A tropical plant. It grows in the tropical lowlands and up to 600 m. It is often planted as a shade and ornamental tree. It also grows wild in the rainforest. It suits humid locations. It prefers well drained soil and an open sunny position. It cannot tolerate drought and in frost tender. It will grow on most soil types. It suits hardiness zones 11-12. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens. In XTBG Yunnan.

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Deciduous forests at low elevations in both primary and secondary formations, sometimes in calcareous soils. Locally common in many Pacific Islands along roadsides, dry open forest and disturbed areas from sea-level to lower montane.

Grows in monsoon forest in laterite and sand, sometimes in alluvium.

Light
Soil humidity
Soil texture
Soil acidity
Soil nutriment	-
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

Uses Widely cultivated as ornamental because of the glossy red seeds that are used for necklaces. Young leaves used as a vegetable. Shade tree. The wood is sometimes used for indoor constructions.

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The young leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The flowers are also eaten. The seeds are roasted and shelled and eaten. The seeds are also powdered to make coffee.

Uses	animal food charcoal coffee substitute cosmetics dye environmental use fodder food fuel gene source green manure invertebrate food material medicinal ornamental poison shade social use spice timber wood
Edible	flowers leaves nuts seeds
Therapeutic use	Wound healing (bark), Anti-bacterial agents (bark), Antirheumatic agents (bark), Aphrodisiacs (bark), Gout (bark), Hematuria (bark), Laryngeal diseases (bark), Ulcer (bark), Colonic diseases (bark), Anti-bacterial agents (leaf), Antirheumatic agents (leaf), Aphrodisiacs (leaf), Gout (leaf), Hematuria (leaf), Hemorrhage (leaf), Hemorrhoids (leaf), Emetics (root), Abscess (seed), Anti-bacterial agents (seed), Antiemetics (seed), Anti-inflammatory agents (seed), Antipyretics (seed), Aphrodisiacs (seed), Cholera (seed), Dizziness (seed), Endophthalmitis (seed), Fever (seed), Furunculosis (seed), Gout (seed), Inflammation (seed), Lung diseases (seed), Nervous system diseases (seed), Pain (seed), Paralysis (seed), Suppuration (seed), Thirst (seed), Vomiting (seed), Boil (unspecified), Rheumatism (unspecified), Soap (unspecified), Suppurative (unspecified), Tonic (unspecified), Tumor (unspecified), Gout (unspecified), Antirheumatic agents (unspecified), Diarrhea (unspecified), Hematuria (unspecified), Aphrodisiacs (wood), Dysentery (wood), Hemorrhage (wood), Hemostasis (wood)
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

It is grown from seeds. The seeds should be soaked before sowing.

Mode	cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days)	30 - 90
Germination temperacture (C°)	21 - 23
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	soaking
Minimum temperature (C°)	-
Optimum temperature (C°)	22 - 28
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-