Taxon: Pithecellobium unguis-cati (L.) Benth.

Summary

Genus:

Pithecellobium

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Caesalpinioideae

Tribe:

Ingeae

Nomen number:

28717

Place of publication:

London J. Bot. 3:200. 1844

Verified:

09/14/1988 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

5 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

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

Basionym
Mimosa unguis-cati L.

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Zygia unguis-cati (L.) Sudw.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Pithecellobium pulchellum Pittier

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Backer, C. A. & R. C. Bakhuizen van den Brink, Jr. 1963-1968. Flora of Java.
Barneby, R. C. & J. W. Grimes. 1997. Silk tree, guanacaste, monkey's earring: a generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas. Part II. Pithecellobium, Cojoba, and Zygia. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74(2):17.
Britton, N. L. et al., eds. ser. 1; C. T. Rogerson, ed. ser. 2. 1905-1972. North American flora Note: ser. 1, 1905-1957; ser. 2, 1954-1972
Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago.
Gooding, E. G. et al. 1965. Flora of Barbados.
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
IPGRI. New World Fruits Database (on-line resource).
Isely, D. 1973. Leguminosae of the United States: I. Subfamily Mimosoideae. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 25(1):116.
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Liogier, H. A. & L. F. Martorell. 1982. Flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands: a systematic synopsis.
Maesen, L. J. G. van der & Sadikin Somaatmadja, eds. 1989. Pulses. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 1:85.
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Rico, L. & T. Pennington. 2012. Review of Fabaceae Neotropical Mimosoideae data for World Economic Plants, ed. 2. pers. comm.
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	blackbead	1	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
English	cat's-claw	1	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
French	ongles de chat	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	arranca pellejo	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	uña de gato	2	Rico, L. & T. Pennington. 2012. Review of Fabaceae Neotropical Mimosoideae data for World Economic Plants, ed. 2. pers. comm.

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	San Luis Potosí		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sinaloa		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sonora		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Campeche		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Colima		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Michoacán de Ocampo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Morelos		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Nayarit		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Querétaro		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Quintana Roo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tabasco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Yucatán		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Bahamas			Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	West Indies			Barneby, R. C. & J. W. Grimes. 1997. Silk tree, guanacaste, monkey's earring: a generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas. Part II. Pithecellobium, Cojoba, and Zygia. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74(2):17.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica			Barneby, R. C. & J. W. Grimes. 1997. Silk tree, guanacaste, monkey's earring: a generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas. Part II. Pithecellobium, Cojoba, and Zygia. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74(2):17.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	El Salvador			Barneby, R. C. & J. W. Grimes. 1997. Silk tree, guanacaste, monkey's earring: a generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas. Part II. Pithecellobium, Cojoba, and Zygia. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74(2):17.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala			Barneby, R. C. & J. W. Grimes. 1997. Silk tree, guanacaste, monkey's earring: a generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas. Part II. Pithecellobium, Cojoba, and Zygia. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74(2):17.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Honduras			Barneby, R. C. & J. W. Grimes. 1997. Silk tree, guanacaste, monkey's earring: a generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas. Part II. Pithecellobium, Cojoba, and Zygia. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74(2):17.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Nicaragua			Barneby, R. C. & J. W. Grimes. 1997. Silk tree, guanacaste, monkey's earring: a generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas. Part II. Pithecellobium, Cojoba, and Zygia. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74(2):17.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Panama			Barneby, R. C. & J. W. Grimes. 1997. Silk tree, guanacaste, monkey's earring: a generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas. Part II. Pithecellobium, Cojoba, and Zygia. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74(2):17.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Guyana		n. (cult.?)	Barneby, R. C. & J. W. Grimes. 1997. Silk tree, guanacaste, monkey's earring: a generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas. Part II. Pithecellobium, Cojoba, and Zygia. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74(2):17.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Venezuela		n.	Barneby, R. C. & J. W. Grimes. 1997. Silk tree, guanacaste, monkey's earring: a generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas. Part II. Pithecellobium, Cojoba, and Zygia. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74(2):17.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia		n.	Barneby, R. C. & J. W. Grimes. 1997. Silk tree, guanacaste, monkey's earring: a generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas. Part II. Pithecellobium, Cojoba, and Zygia. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74(2):17.
2	Cultivated					also cult.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	Bermuda

Native
Northern America

NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Campeche, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: West Indies, Bahamas
CENTRAL AMERICA: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Guyana (n. (cult.?)), Venezuela (n.)
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Colombia (n.)

Cultivated (also cult.)
Naturalized
Northern America

SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Florida]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Bermuda

Reference(s)

Barneby, R. C. & J. W. Grimes. 1997. Silk tree, guanacaste, monkey's earring: a generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas. Part II. Pithecellobium, Cojoba, and Zygia. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74(2):17.
Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago.
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:755. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Environmental	ornamental		Maesen, L. J. G. van der & Sadikin Somaatmadja, eds. 1989. Pulses. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 1:85.

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=28717. Accessed 17 April 2026.