Tree Description:
This small tree rarely reaches a height of 30 feet or a trunk up to 12" in diameter. The crown consists of numerous spreading branches and branchlets.
Range/Site Description:
Dry, gravelly mesas, the sides of low canyons, and the banks of mountain streams from the Rio Grande valley westward. Tree reaches its largest size in the Uvalde area.
Leaf:
The small, compound leaves have 2 to 4 pairs of pinnae, each with 2 to 6 pairs of leaflets. Leaflet size is 0.25" to 0.5" long. Twigs are smooth pale brown or red, usually armed with stout curved prickles or "catclaws."
Flower:
The fragrant, yellowish-to-white flowers appear during the summer in dense, oblong spikes about an inch long, usually 2 to 3 in a cluster at the end of a branch.
Fruit:
A flattened pod, often twisted or distorted, 2" to 4" long by about 0.75" wide. The pod narrows between each of the 6 to 8 seeds, which are nearly round, flattened, dark brown and shiny. The pods hang unopened on the branches until the winter or the following spring.
Bark:
Thin and gray to brown on young stems, then dark and breaking into flattened ridges with age and size.
Wood:
Wood is heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, durable, and clear brown or red in color. Sometimes used for fenceposts. Flowers produce excellent honey.
Similar Species:
Gregg acacia (Acacia greggii var. greggii) has leaflets less than 0.25" long; Roemer acacia (A. roemeriana) occurs sporadically in the Hill Country; goldenball leadtree (Leucaena retusa) has larger leaflets and occurs in canyons of the Edwards Plateau and westward.
Interesting Facts:
