Feather acacia
Acacia pennatula

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A shrub or small tree. It grows 5 m tall. There are prickles along the stem. The leaves are twice divided and there are 8-18 pairs of pinnae. There are up to 50 pairs of pinnules on each pinnae. The flowers are yellow. They are in large clusters at the ends of branches. The pods are flattened.

There are about 1,350 Acacia species. Over 1,000 occur in Australia. Also as Mimosaceae.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant.

Countries/locations it is found in

Central America, Columbia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, North America, Reunion, South America, Venezuela

How it is used for food

The sap is scraped off the bark and eaten. The pods and seeds are processed into flour.

Edible parts

Pods, seeds, sap

How it is grown

Pods develop within 1-2 months of flowering. The unripe pods stay of the tree for 9-10 months.

Its other names

Local names

Espino blanco, Espino jiote, Espino negro, Huizache, Palo Garabo

Synonyms

Acacia canescens (Britton ex Britton & Killip) García-Barr. & Forero; Acacia lanata M.Martens & Galeotti; Inga pennatula Schltdl. & Cham.; Pithecellobium minutissimum M.E.Jones; Poponax canescens Britton ex Britton & Killip; Poponax pennatula (Schltdl. & Cham.) Britton & Rose; Vachellia pennatula (Schltdl. & Cham.) Seigler & Ebinger;