Senegalia greggii

Common Name: Catclaw Acacia
Oˊodham Name: U:paḍ (U:padt) Audio
Group: Shrubs, Trees － Desert

Description

Senegalia greggii is a small tree up to 20 feet tall and wide that grows on desert slopes from 2500 to 5000 feet ft elevation. The stems have fierce, cat-claw like prickles that grab and shred anything passing by. In Spring, and occasionally during summer, it produces floral scented flowers that bees utilize to make excellent honey. Fruit appear during the monsoon season as lumpy, twisted pods up to 6 inches long, and area browsed by deer. This species was previously placed in the genus "Acacia". Also see Vachellia constricta.

Classification

Kingdom Plantae － Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta － Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta － Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta － Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida － Dicotyledons

Subclass Rosidae

Order Fabales

Family Fabaceae － Pea family

Genus Senegalia Raf. － acacia

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

More Information

USDA Plant Profile and Map