Acacia constricta – Whitethorn Acacia

Flower and leaf of an Acacia constricta - Whitethorn Acacia, White-thorn Acacia

White thorns on an Acacia constricta - Whitethorn Acacia, White-thorn Acacia

Seedpods on an Acacia constricta - Whitethorn Acacia, White-thorn Acacia

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Acacia constricta

Common Names: Whitethorn Acacia, White-thorn Acacia

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial, Deciduous

Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Desert, Upland

Flower Color: Yellow, fading to yellow-orange

Flowering Season: Summer

Height: To 10 feet (3 m) tall or more

Description: The flowers are clustered in fuzzy, 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) diameter balls. The flowers are followed by long, narrow, green to red-tinged seedpods that dry to a brown color. The leaves are bipinnately compound with tiny, green, oval leaflets. Some of the branches have distinctive, straight, white, up to 2 inch (5 cm) long thorns at the leaf axils.

Special Characteristics

Fragrant – The flowers are sweetly and intensely fragrant.

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: Acacia Mill. – acacia
Species: Acacia constricta Benth. – whitethorn acacia

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map