Butterfly-leaf Acacia
Senegalia crassiflolia

GROWING CONDITIONS
AN EXPLANAITION OF TERMS USED

SUN full sun, can tolerate part sun when young
WATER low to moderate, faster growing with more water
SOIL prefers well-drained
HARDINESS unknown but based on where it is native, probably at least into the mid to high teens °F
BASIN middle zone
CONTAINER not recommended
NUTRITION low
MAINTENANCE very little, prune thorny branches from high traffic areas

ECOLOGY
Though this species superficially does not resemble doesn’t resemble guajillo (Senegalia berlandieri), it IS genetically the closest with that species and naturally hybridizes with it in the wild. The results are plant with foliage that appear in a range of combinations of leaf-size and shape.

Larval host for the long-tailed skipper (Urbanus proteus), nectar-rich flowers.

ETHNOBOTANY
The human relationships to this plant are not well-recorded.

NATURAL DISTRIBUTION
This species is native to northeastern Mexico.

TAXONOMY AND NAME
Formerly known as Acacia crassifolia.
This species is in the Fabaceae, the legume family. Senegalia has 226 species worldwide.
Acacia is from Greek akakie taken from ake or akis, -a sharp point. The genus Senegalia is a derivation of Senegal in Africa. Occidentalis means of/pertaining to/connected with/coming from the west, referencing other species of Senegalia in the southwest, many of which occur east of Sonora. The species epithet, crassifolia, derives from the Latin crassus, meaning solid, thick, or coarse (it is the origin of the English word “crass”), and refers to the thickness of the leaves.