koa Fabaceae Acacia koa
Leaf:Alternate, deciduous, bipinnately compound, 2 to 10 inches long, with 2 to 8 pairs of major leaflets and 15 to 25 pairs of minor leaflets, green to grayish green and somewhat leathery. The petioles may become flat and more than 1 inch wide, forming leathery phyllodes that are oval to sickle-shaped with parallel venation. Phyllodes may or may not bear bipinnate leaflets.
Flower:Species is monoecious; yellow to white in showy round axillary racemes that are up to 1/3 inch in diameter, appearing throughout the year but most common in late winter.
Fruit:A 6 to 12 inch long by 1/2 inch wide flattened bean pod containing 6-12 seeds; initially green, ripening to dark brown; ripening throughout the year.
Twig:Zigzag, slender, initially green but aging to gray-brown; lacking thorns or spines.
Bark:Variable; initially reddish brown and smooth, becoming irregularly ridged and furrowed, eventually becoming pale and somewhat scaly.
Form:Potentially a large tree capable of reaching 100 feet tall, most often a smaller tree with a crooked bole; widely spreading when open-grown.
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