noun
erect shrub with small if any spines having racemes of white to yellow flowers followed by curved pointed pods and black shiny seeds; West Indies and Florida
• Syn: ↑catclaw, ↑black bead, ↑Pithecellodium unguis-cati
• Member Holonyms: ↑Pithecellobium, ↑genus Pithecellobium, ↑Pithecolobium, ↑genus Pithecolobium
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noun or catclaw \\ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷\ (plural cat's-claws or catclaws)1.
a. : a climbing shrub (Doxantha unguis-cati) with hooked tendrils
b. : an erect shrub (Pithecolobium unguis-cati) with curved pointed pods and black shining seeds
2. : any of several prickly shrubs (as Acacia greggii or Mimosa biuncifera)
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/kats"klaw'/, n.
a spiny shrub or small tree, Pithecellobium unguis-cati, of Central America, having greenish-yellow flowers and reddish, spirally twisted pods.
[1750-60]
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cat's-claw «KATS KL», noun.
any one of several prickly shrubs of the Southwestern United States: »
The cat's-claw…is common in the canyons and on hillsides (Southern Sierran).
Useful english dictionary. 2012.