Vachellia farnesiana |
Vachellia tortuosa |
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huisache, needle bush, sweet acacia |
poponax, twisted acacia |
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Habit | Shrubs or trees, erect or prostrate to ascending, to 8 m; bark dark gray to brown, furrowed. | Shrubs or trees, erect, to 6 m; bark dark gray to dark brown, shallowly furrowed. | ||||||||
Stems | usually slightly flexuous, usually glabrous, not glutinous; short shoots present. |
strongly flexuous, usually pubescent, not glutinous; short shoots present. |
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Leaves | 7–65 mm; stipular spines terete, straight, 2–35(–55) × 0.5–1.4 mm near base; petiole (3–)6–12(–17) mm, usually sparsely to densely pubescent, hairs erect; petiolar gland 1, usually medial on petiole, sessile or short-stalked, circular to slightly elongated, 0.2–1 mm, apex depressed; rachis 10–55 mm; pinnae 2–6(or 7) pairs, 6–33 mm; leaflets 8–19 pairs per pinna, blades flat, oblong, 1.6–6.3 × 0.5–1.7 mm, base oblique and obtuse, apex broadly acute to obtuse, surfaces glabrous, glabrate, or pubescent abaxially, glabrous adaxially. |
12–45 mm; stipular spines terete, straight, 5–40(–55) × 0.7–1.5 mm near base; petiole 3–7 mm, usually densely pubescent, hairs erect; petiolar gland 1, variable between medial to near basal positions of lowermost pinnae, sessile, elongated to circular, 0.3–2 mm, apex depressed; rachis 5–40 mm; pinnae 2–8 pairs, 12–23 mm; leaflets 11–19 pairs per pinna, blades flat, oblong, 3–5.5 × 0.9–1.5 mm, base oblique and obtuse, apex broadly acute to obtuse, surfaces glabrous. |
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Inflorescences | globose heads, densely flowered, 6–10 mm diam., solitary or clusters of 2–5 on short shoots; involucre at base of head (not obvious). |
globose heads, densely flowered, 6–9 mm diam., solitary or clusters of 2–5 on short shoots; involucre at base of head (not obvious). |
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Peduncles | 12–36(–45) mm. |
12–36 mm. |
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Flowers | bright yellow; calyx 1.1–1.8 mm, glabrous; corolla 1.9–2.8 mm, glabrous; filaments yellow, 3.5–5.5 mm. |
pale yellow; calyx 1.1–1.8 mm, pubescent; corolla 1.5–2.4 mm, pubescent; filaments yellow, 3.5–4.5 mm. |
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Legumes | oblong, nearly terete or elliptic in cross section, 30–170 × 9–18 mm, constricted or not between seeds. |
linear, elliptic in cross section, 65–150 × 5–9 mm, constricted between seeds. |
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Seeds | biseriate, uniseriate, or irregularly arranged. |
uniseriate. |
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2n | = 26. |
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Vachellia farnesiana |
Vachellia tortuosa |
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Phenology | Flowering year-round. | |||||||||
Habitat | Thickets, open pastures, successional fields, dry sites. | |||||||||
Elevation | 0–10 m. (0–0 ft.) | |||||||||
Distribution |
Mexico; Central America; s United States; West Indies; c South America; s South America; introduced in Europe; Africa
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FL; South America; West Indies; Central America (Panama) [Introduced in North America] |
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Discussion | Varieties 3 (3 in the flora). Vachellia farnesiana is the most widespread and morphologically variable species in the genus. Segregate species, subspecies, varieties, and forms have been recognized based on habit, leaflet shape, stem and leaflet pubescence, number of pinna pairs, legume size and shape, and seed position. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Vachellia tortuosa is a lowland species, occurring at or near sea level in southern Florida and the West Indies where it is the dominant and co-dominant of the woody vegetation in scrub thickets. Its presence in extreme southern Florida (Collier, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties) was probably the result of pre-Columbian introduction, as this species was always associated with sites of human occupation. It is not known from Mexico or most of Central America (H. D. Clarke et al. 1989). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Fabaceae > subfam. Caesalpinioideae (Mimosoid clade) > Vachellia | Fabaceae > subfam. Caesalpinioideae (Mimosoid clade) > Vachellia | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | Mimosa farnesiana, Acacia farnesiana | Mimosa tortuosa, Acacia tortuosa | ||||||||
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Wight & Arnott: Prodr. Fl. Ind. Orient. 1: 272. (1834) | (Linnaeus) Seigler & Ebinger: Phytologia 87: 168. (2006) | ||||||||
Web links |