Taxon: Dichrostachys cinerea (L.) Wight & Arn.

Summary

Genus:

Dichrostachys

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Caesalpinioideae

Tribe:

Mimoseae

Nomen number:

100199

Place of publication:

Prodr. fl. Ind. orient. 271. 1834

Verified:

09/12/2002 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

13 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Cailliea dichrostachys Guill. & Perr.
Cailliea nutans (Pers.) Skeels
Mimosa glomerata Forssk.
Mimosa nutans Pers.

Images (2 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Arechavaleta, M. et al., eds. 2005. Lista preliminar de especies silvestres de Cabo Verde: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Aubréville, A. et al., eds. 1961-. Flore du Gabon.
Bentham, G. 1863-1878. Flora australiensis
Boudet, G. et al. 1986. Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Mali
Brunel, J. F. et al., eds. 1984. Flore analytique du Togo. Phanerogames
Burkill, H. M. 1985-2004. The useful plants of west tropical Africa.
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Dyer, R. A. et al., eds. 1963-. Flora of southern Africa.
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Ghazanfar, S. A. 1992. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2
Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. Note: introd.
Lebrun, J.-P. et al. 1972. Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Tchad meridional
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Lock, J. M. & K. Simpson. 1991. Legumes of West Asia: a checklist
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
Matthew, K. M. 1983. The flora of the Tamilnadu Carnatic.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).
Smitinand, T. & K. Larsen, eds. 1970-. Flora of Thailand. Note: mentions
Thulin, M. 1983. Leguminosae of Ethiopia. Opera Bot. 68:1-223.
Troupin, G. 1978-. Flore du Rwanda.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
van Wyck, B. E. 2012. Review of Fabaceae Southern Africa data for World Economic Plants, ed. 2. pers. comm.
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	marabou-thorn	1	Burkill, H. M. 1985-2004. The useful plants of west tropical Africa.
English	sicklebush	1	van Wyck, B. E. 2012. Review of Fabaceae Southern Africa data for World Economic Plants, ed. 2. pers. comm.
Spanish (Cuba)	marabu	2	Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Uganda			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Macaronesia	Cabo Verde			Arechavaleta, M. et al., eds. 2005. Lista preliminar de especies silvestres de Cabo Verde: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Chad			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Somalia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Sudan			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Botswana			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Eswatini			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Namibia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Cape Province	n.	Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	KwaZulu-Natal		Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Transvaal		Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Benin			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Côte D'Ivoire			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Gambia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Ghana			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Guinea			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Guinea-Bissau			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Liberia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Mali			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Niger			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Nigeria			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Senegal			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Sierra Leone			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Togo			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Burundi			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Cameroon			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Gabon			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West-Central Tropical Africa	Rwanda			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Oman			Ghazanfar, S. A. 1992. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Saudi Arabia
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Yemen			Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Sri Lanka			Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Myanmar
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia	Jawa
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia	Lesser Sunda Islands
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Northern Territory
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India			Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2	Cultivated	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Malaysia			Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6

Native
Africa

MACARONESIA: Cabo Verde
NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Chad
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Rwanda
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin, Côte D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa [Cape Province (n.), KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal]

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Sri Lanka
INDO-CHINA: Myanmar
MALESIA: Indonesia [Jawa, Lesser Sunda Islands]

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia [Northern Territory]

Cultivated
Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India
MALESIA: Malaysia

Reference(s)

Arechavaleta, M. et al., eds. 2005. Lista preliminar de especies silvestres de Cabo Verde: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Ghazanfar, S. A. 1992. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2
Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Environmental	soil improver		Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Invertebrate food	lac insects		Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=100199. Accessed 11 May 2026.