Acacia angustissima (Mill.) Kuntze

  • Authority

    Isley, Duane. 1973. Leguminosae of the United States: I. Subfamily. Mimosoideae. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 25 (1): 1-152.

  • Family

    Mimosaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Acacia angustissima (Mill.) Kuntze

  • Description

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    Species Description - Herbaceous to suffrutescent, from short rhizomes or a superficial caudex, unarmed, sprawling to erect, 3-10(-20) dm, glabrate to hirsute. Pubescence of sparse, incurved puberulence or hirsute. Leaves bipinnate; leafstalk eglandular, glabrous to hirsute; pinnae (2-)4-12(-15) pairs; leaflets 10-24(-30) pairs, short-oblong, mostly asymmetric with displaced midvein; secondary venation rarely discernible. Stipules inconspicuous, not spiny. Flowers 4-10 (-15), pedicelled in subglobose to briefly ellipsoidal, whitish (to dull orange on dried specimens) heads, 1-1.5 cm diam, (1-) 2—3 in axils of, and included among, subtending leaves or mostly fasciculate-aggregated in terminal racemes. Legume stipitate, oblong, 3-6 cm long, 6-9(-12) mm wide; margins straight or sinuate; valves membranous, glabrate to puberulent.

  • Discussion

    CN 2n = 26 (Turner & Fearing, 1960a; as A. texensis). Typical Acacia angustissima is widely distributed in the American tropics as a shrub or small tree. It does not occur in the United States except possibly in cultivation. The above description applies to the several forms native to the United States. Hortus III refers to flowers “white-tinged pink or lavender” but I have seen none such. My definition (Isely, 1969) of U.S. phases of this species differs somewhat from that of previous authors (e.g. Wiggins, 1942; Benson, 1943).

  • Distribution

    Florida to Arizona, n to s Missouri. Slightly in cultivation. Mexico and Central America.

    United States of America North America| Central America| Mexico North America|