Catclaw Acacia
Senegalia greggii

LANDSCAPE USE
Small shade tree, screening shrub

GROWING CONDITIONS
AN EXPLANAITION OF TERMS USED

SUN this plant looks its best planted in full sun but can take part sun or shade as well
WATER low to moderate water, can live on rainfall when established but may not get tree-sized on rainfall
SOIL native to bosques, but tolerates most soils
HARDINESS hardy to 0°F
BASIN low to terrace zones
CONTAINER this plant does moderately well in containers but is very thorny and not good for high traffic areas. Will not reach potential size in container
NUTRITION moderate
MAINTENANCE prune thorny branches out of walkways

ECOLOGY
The flowers are extra nectar-rich and attract a load of butterflies, bees, and more. Butterfly larval food plant for the Mexican yellow (Eurema mexicana), the Mimosa yellow butterfly (Eurema nise), the Reakirt’s blue (Echinargus isola), and the marine blue (Leptotes marina). Moth larval food plant for Hubbard’s small silkmoth (Sphingicampa hubbardi), tricolor buckmoth (Hemileuca tricolor), black witch moth (Ascalapha odorata), mesquite stinger flannel moth (Norape tenera), naval orange worm moth (Amyelois transitella), the merry melipotis moth (Melipotis jucunda) and many others. Attracts substrate-insectivorous birds. Some species consume seeds as well. Flowers attract all sorts of nectar-eating insects. Nice habitat for birds (the dense, thorny branches protect animals hiding within).

ETHNOBOTANY
Wood used for constructing various items. Great nectar plant for domestic bees. Young, green seed pods roasted and ground into meal, often mixed with fats or oils. Dried pods are avoided because they contain a cyanogenic glycoside, called prunasin. Leaves, stems, pods, and roots are used as an astringent, emollient, disinfectant, anti-inflammatory. Sometimes used in basketry. A gum similar to gum arabic exudes from the trunks of older plants and has been used.

NATURAL DISTRIBUTION
Found on flats, washes, and slopes below 5,000’. Very common in Arizona but also found in the southern portions of California, Nevada, Utah, scattered through New Mexico and Texas, and south into northern Mexico.

TAXONOMY AND NAME
Formerly known as Acacia greggii.
This species is in the Fabaceae, legume family. The genus Senegalia has 226 accepted 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. The species greggii is reference to Josiah Gregg (1806-1850), a frontier trader and author who worked with Dr. George Engelmann.