Acacia verticillata

Star acacia, prickly moses, Prickly Moses

Family: Fabaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Star acacia is a naturalized shrub found in the central coast, San Francisco Bay, and southern California coastal regions in disturbed areas at elevations below 150 meters. Flowering from February to April, this plant produces pale yellow flowers in small racemes with 1 to 3 heads. Growing as a small shrub or tree under 5 meters tall, it features distinctively ridged twigs and spine-like leaf tips. Its leaves are simple, needle-like, and typically arranged in whorls, measuring 1 to 2 centimeters long and less than 1.5 millimeters wide with a prominent midvein. The fruit is a dark brown, papery pod 2 to 9 centimeters long, often with light yellow seed arils forming a distinctive cap.

Habitat: Uncommon. Disturbed areas

Bloom period: Feb-Apr

Elevation: < 150 m

Bioregions: CCo, SnFrB, SCo

California counties: Los Angeles, Marin, San Francisco, Monterey, Contra Costa, San Luis Obispo, San Diego, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Santa Barbara

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.