In the Sonoran Desert, Vachellia constricta grows in arroyos and washes, where it blooms in late spring (April–May), with a second round of blooms in July–October. Blooming requires a minimum amount of rain, followed by a period of warmth.
Descriptionedit
Vachellia constricta typically grows to 2 metres (6.6 ft) in height, occasionally reaching 6 metres (20 ft). Its stems range from a light gray to a mahogany color, with pairs of straight white spines anywhere from 0.5 to 2 cm long.
The small leaves are even-pinnate, usually 2.5–4 cm in length, with each of the 3–9 pairs of pinnae made of 4–16 pairs of leaflets, which are about 3.5 mm long and 1 mm wide. The flowers occur in small yellow balls about 1 cm in diameter. The flowers offer no nectar and little pollen, and so tend to have few visitors. Extrafloral nectaries grow along the main stem of the compound leaves and attract ants to the trees. The seed pods are relatively long and thin, up to 12 cm long but only 3–6 mm wide.
The leaves may drop in response to either dryness or cold.
Vachellia constricta seed pods
Varietiesedit
Cultivationedit
Vachellia constricta is cultivated by specialty plant nurseries as an ornamental plant. It is used in native plant desert habitat gardens. It can be trained as a small tree or grown as a barrier hedges.
Referencesedit
^Seigler DS, Ebinger JE. (2005). "New combinations in the genus Vachellia (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) from the New World". Phytologia. 87 (3): 139–78.
Raymond M. Turner, Janice E. Bowers, and Tony L. Burgess, Sonoran Desert Plants: an Ecological Atlas (Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1995) pp. 15–16
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vachellia constricta.
vachellia, constricta, also, known, commonly, whitethorn, acacia, shrub, native, mexico, southwestern, united, states, scientific, classificationkingdom, plantaeclade, tracheophytesclade, angiospermsclade, eudicotsclade, rosidsorder, fabalesfamily, fabaceaesub. Vachellia constricta also known commonly as the whitethorn acacia is a shrub native to Mexico and the Southwestern United States 2 3 Vachellia constrictaScientific classificationKingdom PlantaeClade TracheophytesClade AngiospermsClade EudicotsClade RosidsOrder FabalesFamily FabaceaeSubfamily CaesalpinioideaeClade Mimosoid cladeGenus VachelliaSpecies V constrictaBinomial nameVachellia constricta Benth Seigler amp Ebinger 1 SynonymsAcacia constricta Benth Contents 1 Distribution 2 Description 2 1 Varieties 3 Cultivation 4 References 4 1 General references 5 External linksDistribution editIn the Southwest V constricta grows in the southern half of Arizona extending into New Mexico and West Texas It grows in Mexico as far south as Oaxaca with small disjunct populations in Baja California and in the Magdalena Plain of Baja California Sur In the Sonoran Desert Vachellia constricta grows in arroyos and washes where it blooms in late spring April May with a second round of blooms in July October Blooming requires a minimum amount of rain followed by a period of warmth Description editVachellia constricta typically grows to 2 metres 6 6 ft in height occasionally reaching 6 metres 20 ft Its stems range from a light gray to a mahogany color with pairs of straight white spines anywhere from 0 5 to 2 cm long The small leaves are even pinnate usually 2 5 4 cm in length with each of the 3 9 pairs of pinnae made of 4 16 pairs of leaflets which are about 3 5 mm long and 1 mm wide The flowers occur in small yellow balls about 1 cm in diameter The flowers offer no nectar and little pollen and so tend to have few visitors Extrafloral nectaries grow along the main stem of the compound leaves and attract ants to the trees The seed pods are relatively long and thin up to 12 cm long but only 3 6 mm wide The leaves may drop in response to either dryness or cold nbsp Vachellia constricta seed podsVarieties editCultivation editVachellia constricta is cultivated by specialty plant nurseries as an ornamental plant It is used in native plant desert habitat gardens It can be trained as a small tree or grown as a barrier hedges References edit Seigler DS Ebinger JE 2005 New combinations in the genus Vachellia Fabaceae Mimosoideae from the New World Phytologia 87 3 139 78 USDA USDA FEIS data General references edit Raymond M Turner Janice E Bowers and Tony L Burgess Sonoran Desert Plants an Ecological Atlas Tucson The University of Arizona Press 1995 pp 15 16External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vachellia constricta USDA Plants profile Vachellia constricta as Acacia constricta USFS Vachellia constricta as Acacia constricta Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Vachellia constricta amp oldid 1211393497, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
