Catclaw Acacia
Senegalia greggii
Its common name 'wait-a-minute bush' comes from how its hooked thorns catch on clothing, forcing travelers to stop and carefully untangle themselves.
- Scientific name
- Senegalia greggii
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Fabales › Fabaceae › Senegalia
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- desert
- Habitat
- Desert washes, canyons, slopes, and dry shrublands.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (photosynthetic, nitrogen-fixing).
- Range
- Southwestern United States, Northern Mexico
- Size
- Shrub or small tree growing 3 to 9 meters (10 to 30 feet) tall.
- Lifespan
- 50-130 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Urban development, habitat fragmentation, and severe prolonged droughts.
- Safe to approach?
- Defensive. Avoid brushing against its sharp, hooked thorns, which can easily tear skin and clothing. Maintain a safe distance of at least 2 to 3 feet when hiking near them. If scratched, wash the wound thoroughly with soap and clean water to prevent infection, and apply antiseptic.
Senegalia greggii is a species of Senegalia native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, from the extreme south of Utah (where, at 37°10' N it is the northernmost naturally occurring Senegalia species anywhere in the world) south through southern Nevada, southeast California, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas to Baja California, Sinaloa and Nuevo León in Mexico.
Photo: als93, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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