Taxon: Chamaecrista mimosoides (L.) Greene

Summary

Genus:

Chamaecrista

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Caesalpinioideae

Tribe:

Cassieae

Subtribe:

Cassiinae

Nomen number:

100085

Place of publication:

Pittonia 4:27. 1899

Verified:

02/19/1988 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

17 (7 active, 7 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

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

Basionym
Cassia mimosoides L.

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Cassia mimosoides L. var. mimosoides

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

$Disseminule drawings\; A: Seed; B: embryo in situ; C: transection of seed$

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Bosser, J. M. et al., eds. 1976-. Flores des Mascareignes.
George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Irwin, H. S. & R. C. Barneby. 1982. The American Cassiinae: a synoptical revision of Leguminosae tribe Cassieae subtribe Cassiinae in the New World. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 35:843.
Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
Lock, J. M. & K. Simpson. 1991. Legumes of West Asia: a checklist
Lock, J. M. 1988. Cassia sens. lat. (Leguminosae - Caesalpinioideae) in Africa. Kew Bull. 43:337.
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
Luckow, M. 1996. The cultivated species of Cassia, Senna, and Chamaecrista (Leguminosae). Baileya 23:209.
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Smith, A. C. 1979-1991. Flora vitiensis nova.

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	five-leaf cassia		1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	Japanese-tea		1	Smith, A. C. 1979-1991. Flora vitiensis nova.
India	patwa-ghas	as Cassia mimosoides	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants

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	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	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			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Eswatini			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Namibia			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Eastern Cape		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Free State		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Gauteng		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	KwaZulu-Natal		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Limpopo		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Mpumalanga		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Northern Cape		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	North-West		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Benin			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Burkina Faso			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	Mauritania			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	Sao Tome and Principe			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Yemen
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Sri Lanka
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Cambodia			Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Laos			Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Thailand			Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Vietnam			Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Malaysia
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Papuasia	Papua New Guinea
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Northern Territory	n.	George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Queensland	n. & e.	George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Western Australia	n.e.	George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
2	Cultivated					also cult.
4	Naturalized					natzd. elsewhere

Native
Africa

NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia, Sudan, Chad
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa [Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North-West]

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: Yemen

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan
PAPUASIA: Papua New Guinea
INDO-CHINA: Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam
MALESIA: Indonesia, Malaysia

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia [Queensland (n. & e.), Western Australia (n.e.), Northern Territory (n.)]

Cultivated (also cult.)
Naturalized (natzd. elsewhere)

Reference(s)

George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Lock, J. M. & J. Heald. 1994. Legumes of Indochina: a checklist
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Environmental	soil improver		Smith, A. C. 1979-1991. Flora vitiensis nova.
Environmental	soil improver		Luckow, M. 1996. The cultivated species of Cassia, Senna, and Chamaecrista (Leguminosae). Baileya 23:209.

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=100085. Accessed 15 April 2026.