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Catclaw
Senegalia greggii
  
7 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Catclaw (Senegalia greggii) 7 Nurseries Carry This Plant Catclaw is a shrub in the Fabaceae (Legume) family that is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, from the extreme south of Utah south through southern Nevada, southeast California, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas to Baja California, Sinaloa and Nuevo Leon in Mexico. In California it is found in the Mojave Desert and on the eastern side of the the Peninsular Range in desert transition chaparral. The genus Senegalia was formerly classified with the Acacias, and some sources still refer to it by that name. Common names for this species include Catclaw Acacia, Catclaw Mesquite, Gregg's Catclaw, Devil's Claw, Paradise Flower, and Wait-a-minute Bush; these names mostly come from the fact that the stems have numerous hooked thorns with the shape and size of a cat's claw, that tend to hook onto passers-by; the hooked person must stop ("wait a minute") to remove the thorns carefully to avoid injury or shredded clothing. The fruit is a legume pod that is valued by wildlife. This plant should be used away from traffic where its thorns will not cause a problem.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
12 ft tall
8 ft wide

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate, Slow

Dormancy
Dormancy
Summer Semi-Deciduous

Flower Color
Flower Color
Cream, Yellow

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
Numerous insects are attracted to the flowers. Various small mammals are attracted to the seeds.

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 2 confirmed , 7 likely * ) SHOW ALL
Leptotes marina Image
Marine Blue Leptotes marinaLeptotes marina
Hemileuca burnsi Image
Hemileuca burnsiHemileuca burnsi
*
Ministrymon leda Image
Leda Ministreak Ministrymon ledaMinistrymon leda
*
Hyles lineata Image
White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata
*
Melipotis jucunda Image
Merry Melipotis Melipotis jucundaMelipotis jucunda
*
Ascalapha odorata Image
Black Witch Ascalapha odorataAscalapha odorata
*
Heteranassa mima Image
Heteranassa mimaHeteranassa mima

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 7

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 15° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast

Soil Description
Soil Description
Rocky, sandy or decomposed granite. Soil PH: 6.6 - 8.2

Common uses
Common uses
Bank Stabilization, Hedges, Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Use with other Desert or semi-Desert species such as Desert Agave (Agave deserti), Bigberry Manzanita (Arctostaphylos glauca), Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), Fremont Barberry (Berberis fremontii), Desert Ceanothus (Ceanothus greggii), Desert Willow (Chilpsis linearis), Brittlebush (Encelia californica), Buckwheat (Eriogonum sp.), Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa), California Juniper (Juniperus californica), Bladderpod (Peritoma arborea), Antelope Brush (Purshia stansburyana or tridentata), Sage (Salvia dorrii or mohavensis), Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), Apricot Mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), Banana Yucca (Yucca baccata), and various cactus species.

Maintenance
Maintenance
Can be pruned into a small tree. Wear gloves and use caution when pruning.

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: No treatment; Scarification or hot water may improve germination.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
7*, 8*, 9*, 10*, 11, 12*, 13, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17, 18, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Slope, canyons, flats and washes of desert and semi-desert areas

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 2.2" - 34.8", Summer Precipitation: 0.25" - 3.11", Coldest Month: 38.4" - 63.5", Hottest Month: 61.8" - 90.7", Humidity: 2.01" - 49.01", Elevation: -187" - 7763"

Alternative Names
Botanical Names: Acacia greggii
Common Names: Catclaw Acacia, Devilsclaw, Gregg Catclaw, Texas Catclaw


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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