Landscape Uses:
	An accent flowering shrub in sunny locations. Also an effective and colorful addition to spiny barrier plantings.
Ecological Restoration Notes:
	Apparently native primarily along the west coast; otherwise, known mostly from disturbed uplands.
Availability:
	Widely available.
Description:
	Medium shrub to small tree with long zigzag branches armed with stout pairs of stipular spines. Leaves thin and feathery, light green.
Height:
	Typically, 8-12 feet in height; rarely to about 20 feet in South Florida. Often as broad as tall or broader.
Growth Rate:
	Moderate to fast.
Range:
	Florida, where scattered mostly along the west coast; West Indies, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Old World Tropics. Probably now spreading from cultivated plants.
Habitats:
	Coastal hammocks, thickets and disturbed uplands.
Soils:
	Moist to dry, well-drained limestone or calcareous sandy soils, with or without humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements:
	Moderate to low.
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:
	Yellow.
Flower Characteristics:
	Showy, in rounded head-like clusters; very fragrant.
Flowering Season:
	All year; peak in winter.
Fruit:
	Long brownish 2-3" pod (legume) with a pronounced, curved tip.
Wildlife and Ecology:
	Nectar plant for red-banded hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) butterflies. Attracts pollinators.
Horticultural Notes:
	Propagated by seed and cuttings. Germination may be speeded up by treating seed with hot water. For cuttings, intermediate (not green, not mature) wood is best.
Comments:
	The flowers are used to make a perfume. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page.