catclaw acacia Fabaceae Senegalia
greggii (A. Gray) Britton & Rose
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