Senegalia greggii

Catclaw, devil's claw, Devil'S Claw

Family: Fabaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Catclaw is a California native shrub found in the eastern Peninsular Range and desert regions in dry chaparral, washes, and disturbed areas at elevations of 100 to 1,400 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces light yellow to cream flowers in clustered inflorescences. Growing as a shrub up to 7 meters tall with distinctively curved, recurved prickles on its twigs, it has a spreading, somewhat hairy appearance. Its leaves are clustered on short shoots, with 1 to 3 pairs of primary leaflets and 3 to 6 pairs of secondary leaflets that are oblong to obovate and lightly hairy. The plant produces curved or twisted papery fruits 5 to 15 centimeters long and 10 to 25 millimeters wide, which are light brown and glabrous.

Habitat: Uncommon; dry slopes in chaparral, flats, washes, disturbed areas

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 100-1400 m

Bioregions: e PR, D

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial, San Diego, Los Angeles

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