| Acaciella angustissima | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Caesalpinioideae |
| Clade: | Mimosoid clade |
| Genus: | Acaciella |
| Species: | A. angustissima
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| Binomial name | |
| Acaciella angustissima | |
| Varieties[1] | |
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| Range of Acaciella angustissima | |
| Synonyms[3] | |
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Acaciella angustissima (prairie acacia, white-ball acacia, ocpatl, or palo de pulque[4]) is most recognized for its drought tolerance and its ability to be used as a green manure and ground covering. It is a perennial, deciduous, and belongs to the family Fabaceae (beans/legumes) and as it grows it starts as a shrub but eventually matures to a small tree. The tree has a high density of leaves along with small clumps of white flowers and creates 4–7 cm long seed pods. Acaciella angustissima is found in tropical areas around the equator since, its water needs can vary from 750 to 2,500 mm a year. It has an advantage it can withstand a moderate drought, since its leaves are retained even in long dry periods. Aside from being drought tolerant, Acaciella angustissima also has the benefit of being a green manure, since it has such a high leaf density, but also loses the majority of its leaves each season. So the leaves can be used in composting or can be saved and used as livestock feed. It should only be used as an additive to the feed and not the main source, since it also toxic in high doses.
- ^ ILDIS Legumes of the World
- ^ M. Martens & Galeotti Bull. Acad. Roy. Sci. Bruxelles 10(2): 312 1843
- ^ "ILDIS LegumeWeb". www.ildis.org. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
- ^ Hortipedia Archived October 1, 2011, at the Wayback Machine