Acacia berlandieri

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Sunset Zones:		12, 13, 26-29

Scientific Names

Template:About Acacia berlandieri (Berlandier Acacia, Guajillo Acacia, guajillo, huajillo) is a shrub native to the Southwestern United States that belongs to the Mimosaceae (wattle family). It grows 1m to 5m tall, with blossoms that are spherical and white, occurring from February through April. The berlandieri epithet comes from the name of Jean-Louis Berlandier, a French naturalist who studied wildlife native to Texas and Mexico. A. berlandieri contains a wide variety of alkaloids and has been known to cause toxic reactions in domestic animals such as goats.

Acacia berlandieri Foliage and Flowers

Acacia berlandieri Tree

Acacia berlandieri Bark

Acacia berlandieri Flowers and Seed Pods

Acacia berlandieri Seeds

Uses

A. berlandieri is toxic to livestock and thus should not be used as forage or fodder.

Alkaloids

A. berlandieri contains a number of diverse alkaloids, the most plentiful of which are N-methylphenethylamine, tyramine, and phenethylamine. In a recent study, researchers identified thirty-one alkaloids in samples of plant foliage, including trace amounts of five amphetamines previously believed to be human inventions: amphetamine, methamphetamine, N,N-dimethylamphetamine, p-hydroxyamphetamine and p-methoxyamphetamine. Other trace alkaloids include DMT (found in many related species), nicotine, and mescaline (found in many cacti but infrequently in other plants). The same group of researchers later reported finding most of the same alkaloids in A. rigidula, a related species also native to the Southwestern U.S. The findings, however, have never been confirmed or repeated, leading some researchers to believe the results were the result of cross-contamination.

Taxonomy

? Scientific classification
Domain: {{{domain}}} Superkingdom: {{{superregnum}}} Kingdom: Plantae Subkingdom: {{{subregnum}}} Superdivision: {{{superdivisio}}} Superphylum: {{{superphylum}}} Division: Magnoliophyta Phylum: {{{phylum}}} Subdivision: {{{subdivisio}}} Subphylum: {{{subphylum}}} Infraphylum: {{{infraphylum}}} Microphylum: {{{microphylum}}} Nanophylum: {{{nanophylum}}} Superclass: {{{superclassis}}} Class: Magnoliopsida Sublass: {{{subclassis}}} Infraclass: {{{infraclassis}}} Superorder: {{{superordo}}} Order: Fabales Suborder: {{{subordo}}} Infraorder: {{{infraordo}}} Superfamily: {{{superfamilia}}} Family: Fabaceae Subfamily: Mimosoideae Supertribe: {{{supertribus}}} Tribe: Acacieae Subtribe: {{{subtribus}}} Genus: Acacia Subgenus: {{{subgenus}}} Section: {{{sectio}}} Series: {{{series}}} Species: A. berlandieri Subspecies: {{{subspecies}}}
[[{{{diversity_link}}}|Diversity]]
{{{diversity}}}
Binomial name
Acacia berlandieri Benth.
Trinomial name
{{{trinomial}}}
Type Species
{{{type_species}}}
{{{subdivision_ranks}}}
Range of Acacia berlandieri
Synonyms
{{{synonyms}}}

External links

• Chemistry of Acacia's from South Texas