General Landscape Uses:
	Accent or specimen shrub or small tree along the coast. Buffer plantings.
Availability:
	Native plant nurseries.
Description:
	Large shrub or small tree with an irregular crown from spreading, spiny branches. Trunks short, to about 8 inches in diameter. Bark reddish-brown, divided by fissures. Leaves compound, the leaflets about 1-2 inches long.
Dimensions:
	Typically 10-15 feet in height; to 24 feet in South Florida. Often as broad as tall or broader.
Growth Rate:
	Moderate.
Range:
	Monroe County Keys and Miami-Dade County north along west coast to Hillsborough County; West Indies, Central America and South America. In Miami-Dade County not known from the mainland; known only from the Florida Keys in and around Elliott Key in Biscayne National Park.
Habitats:
	Coastal hammocks.
Soils:
	Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements:
	Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.
Salt Water Tolerance:
	Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance:
	Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.
Drought Tolerance:
	High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements:
	Full sun.
Flower Color:
	White to greenish-yellow.
Flower Characteristics:
	Semi-showy globose heads. Fragrant.
Flowering Season:
	All year; peak in summer.
Fruit:
	Reddish-brown pod (legume).
Wildlife and Ecology:
	Provides food and cover for wildlife. Larval host plant for cassius blue (Leptotes cassius) and large orange sulphur (Phoebis agarithe) butterflies. Nectar plant for cassius blue butterflies.
Horticultural Notes:
	Can be grown from seed removed from the aril. Place seed on top of soil and just cover. Place container in light shade.
Comments:
	Almost the entire plant is spiny.