3. Entada rheedii Sprengel, Syst. Veg. 2: 325. 1825.
眼镜豆 yan jing dou
Mimosa entada Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 518. 1753; Entada formosana Kanehira; E. laotica Gagnepain; E. monostachya Candolle; E. pusaetha Candolle, as "pursaetha"; E. pusaetha subsp. sinohimalensis Grierson & D. G. Long; E. pusaetha var. sinohimalensis (Grierson & D. G. Long) C. Chen & H. Sun.
Climbers, woody. Pinnae 2 pairs, 5-15 cm; leaflets 3 or 4(or 5) pairs per pinna, opposite, obovate to elliptic-lanceolate, unequally sided, 2.3-7 × 1.3-3.5 cm, papery, abaxially glaucous, base rounded to broadly cuneate, apex acuminate to obtuse, or emarginate. Spikes solitary or fasciculate, axillary, 12-25 cm. Flowers male or bisexual. Calyx green, cup-shaped, 0.8-1 mm. Petals white, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, 2.8-3 mm. Stamens white, turning yellow, 5-6.5 mm. Ovary glabrous. Legume straight to slightly curved, to 2 m × 7-15 cm; segments 6.5-7.5 cm, epicarp and endocarp woody. Seeds brown, brilliant, suborbicular, flat, 3.5-4 × ca. 1 cm. Fl. Mar-Apr, fr. Aug-Oct.
Forests; 100-900 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, Xizang, Yunnan [tropical Asia; E Africa, Australia, Indian Ocean islands (Mascarene Islands)].
The bark and seeds contain saponin, which is used as a substitute for soap.
