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catclaw acacia Fabaceae Senegalia greggii (A. Gray) Britton & Rose Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet 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

catclaw acacia leaf image
catclaw acacia flower image
catclaw acacia fruit image
catclaw acacia twig image
catclaw acacia bark image
catclaw acacia form image
catclaw acacia map image

Additional Range Information: Senegalia greggii is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Fall Color
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information
All material 2025 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 map source information