Pithecellobium unguis-cati (L.) Benth.

A small shrub or small tree. It grows 20 m tall. It is very spiny. The trunk can be 1.2 m across. It often has a low branches and a wide crown. The bark is brown and cracked. The leaves are alternate and compound. The leaves are twice divided. There are 4 leaflets about 3-5 cm long. The flowers are white on a spike. The fruit is a pod 5-10 cm long. It is curved or coiled. It splits open when ripe. The seeds are black and shiny with a fleshy aril of layer around them.

Thickets on arid limestone, forming open woodland on the edges of salt marshes. Because of reduced competition from trees, it tends to grow on sand dunes, coastal strands and keys, and on shallow rocky soils, sometimes forming thickets.

The pulp around the seeds is eaten.

Plants can be grown from seeds. It can be clipped and pruned.