Virginia Tech Dendrology

catclaw acacia Fabaceae Senegalia greggii A. Gray Listen to the Latin symbol: SEGR4
Leaf: Alternate, bipinnately compound, 1 to 2 inches long, with 1 to 3 pairs of major leaflets, 4 to 6 pairs of minor leaflets (1/4 inch long), dull green.
Flower: Species is monoecious; pale yellow in tight elongated, showy clusters, 2 to 3 inches long, fragrant, appearing in spring and early summer.
Fruit: A 3 to 6 inch long, 1/2 inch wide, flattened, very twisted legume, brown, maturing in mid to late summer.
Twig: Slender, brown, angled, with numerous stout backward curving spines (1/4 inch); buds sunken in leaf scar.
Bark: Gray-brown, becoming heavily fissured and furrowed with age.
Form: A thicket forming shrub or small tree that can reach heights of 30 feet.
 Looks like: screwbean mesquite - Texas ebony - fairy duster - whitethorn acacia
leaf flower fruit twig bark form1 map
Additional Range Information: Senegalia greggii is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. See states reporting catclaw acacia.
More Information: Fall Color
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database
All material © 2018 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range maps courtesy USGS from USDA "Atlas of United States Trees" by Elbert L. Little, Jr., Vol. 1 (1971) 3 (1976) 4 (1977) 5 (1978)