| Vachellia constricta | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Caesalpinioideae |
| Clade: | Mimosoid clade |
| Genus: | Vachellia |
| Species: | V. constricta |
| Binomial name | |
| Vachellia constricta | |
| Synonyms | |
Acacia constrictaBenth. | |
Vachellia constricta, also known commonly as the whitethorn acacia, is a shrub native to Mexico and the Southwestern United States. [2] [3]
In the Southwest V. constricta grows in the southern half of Arizona, extending into New Mexico and West Texas. It grows in Mexico as far south as Oaxaca, with small disjunct populations in Baja California and in the Magdalena Plain of Baja California Sur.
In the Sonoran Desert, Vachellia constricta grows in arroyos and washes, where it blooms in late spring (April–May), with a second round of blooms in July–October. Blooming requires a minimum amount of rain, followed by a period of warmth.
Vachellia constricta typically grows to 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height, occasionally reaching 6 metres (20 ft). Its stems range from a light gray to a mahogany color, with pairs of straight white spines anywhere from 0.5 to 2 cm long.
The small leaves are even-pinnate, usually 2.5–4 cm in length, with each of the 3–9 pairs of pinnae made of 4–16 pairs of leaflets, which are about 3.5 mm long and 1 mm wide. The flowers occur in small yellow balls about 1 cm in diameter. The flowers offer no nectar and little pollen, and so tend to have few visitors. Extrafloral nectaries grow along the main stem of the compound leaves and attract ants to the trees. The seed pods are relatively long and thin, up to 12 cm long but only 3–6 mm wide.
The leaves may drop in response to either dryness or cold.
Vachellia constricta is cultivated by specialty plant nurseries as an ornamental plant. It is used in native plant desert habitat gardens. It can be trained as a small tree or grown as a barrier hedges.
Senegalia greggii, formerly known as Acacia greggii, is a species of tree in the genus Senegalia native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, from the extreme south of Utah south through southern Nevada, southeast California, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas to Baja California, Sinaloa and Nuevo León in Mexico. The population in Utah at 37°10' N is the northernmost naturally occurring Senegalia species anywhere in the world.
Vachellia farnesiana, also known as Acacia farnesiana, and previously Mimosa farnesiana, commonly known as sweet acacia, huisache, or needle bush, is a species of shrub or small tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. Its flowers are used in the perfume industry.
Vachellia tortilis, widely known as Acacia tortilis but now attributed to the genus Vachellia, is the umbrella thorn acacia, also known as umbrella thorn and Israeli babool, a medium to large canopied tree native to most of Africa, primarily to the savanna and Sahel of Africa, but also occurring in the Middle East.
Parkinsonia microphylla, the yellow paloverde, foothill paloverde or little-leaved palo verde; syn. Cercidium microphyllum), is a species of palo verde.
Parkinsonia florida, the blue palo verde, is a species of palo verde native to the Sonoran Deserts in the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. Its name means "green pole or stick" in Spanish, referring to the green trunk and branches, that perform photosynthesis.
Acaciella angustissima is most recognized for its drought tolerance and its ability to be used as a green manure and ground covering. It is a perennial, deciduous, and belongs to the family Fabaceae (beans/legumes) and as it grows it starts as a shrub but eventually matures to a small tree. The tree has a high density of leaves along with small clumps of white flowers and creates 4–7 cm long seed pods. Acaciella angustissima is found in tropical areas around the equator since, its water needs can vary from 750 to 2,500 mm a year. It has an advantage it can withstand a moderate drought, since its leaves are retained even in long dry periods. Aside from being drought tolerant, Acaciella angustissima also has the benefit of being a green manure, since it has such a high leaf density, but also loses the majority of its leaves each season. So the leaves can be used in composting or can be saved and used as livestock feed. It should only be used as an additive to the feed and not the main source, since it also toxic in high doses.
Vachellia nilotica, more commonly known as Acacia nilotica, and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, babul, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. It is also considered a 'weed of national significance' and an invasive species of concern in Australia, as well as a noxious weed by the federal government of the United States.
Prosopis velutina, commonly known as velvet mesquite, is a small to medium-sized tree. It is a legume adapted to a dry, desert climate. Though considered to be a noxious weed in states outside its natural range, it plays a vital role in the ecology of the Sonoran Desert.
Calliandra eriophylla, commonly known as fairy duster, is a low spreading shrub which is native to deserts and arid grasslands in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico.
Olneya tesota is a perennial flowering tree of the family Fabaceae, legumes, which is commonly known as ironwood, desert ironwood, or palo fierro in Spanish. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Olneya. This tree is part of the western Sonoran Desert complex in the Southwestern United States.
Dalea mollissima is a desert wildflower plant in the legume family (Fabaceae), with the common names soft prairie clover, downy dalea, and silk dalea.
Palafoxia arida var. gigantea, with the common name Spanish needles, is a variety of flowering plant from the sunflower family (Asteraceae).
Condea emoryi, the desert lavender, is a large, multi-stemmed shrub species of flowering plant in Lamiaceae, the mint family.
Rafinesquia neomexicana is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Common names include desert chicory, plumeseed, or New Mexico plumeseed. It has white showy flowers, milky sap, and weak, zigzag stems, that may grow up through other shrubs for support. It is an annual plant found in dry climate areas of the southwestern deserts of the US and northwestern deserts of Mexico.
Psorothamnus arborescens is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Mojave indigo bush.
Tetracoccus hallii is a species of flowering shrub in the family Picrodendraceae, known by the common names Hall's shrubby-spurge and Hall's tetracoccus.
Vachellia flava, synonym Acacia ehrenbergiana, is a species of drought-resistant bush or small tree, commonly known as salam in Arabic. It is found in the Sahara, the northern Sahel, parts of East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
Ambrosia salsola, commonly called cheesebush, winged ragweed, burrobush, white burrobrush, and desert pearl, is a species of perennial shrub in the family Asteraceae native to deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
Scutellaria mexicana, commonly known by variants on bladder sage or paperbag bush, is a shrub of the mint family Lamiaceae distinctive for its calyx lobes that develop into small bag- or bladder-like shells around the fruits.
Lysiloma candidum, most commonly known as the palo blanco, is a tree of the family Fabaceae near-endemic to the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It may grow to a height of 10 metres (33 ft) and is one of the few spineless woody legumes in the region. It has compound leaves with oval gray-green leaflets. The creamy-white, globose clusters of flowers bloom in March through May and perfume the air with a light, spicy fragrance. The flowers are followed by red-brown pods up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long that hang delicately on the thin branches. This species is distributed throughout the Baja California Peninsula, from Rancho El Barril in southern Baja California state to the Cape region of Baja California Sur, and is also very rarely found in the state of Sonora.
