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Taxon  Report  
Senegalia greggii  Britton & Rose
Catclaw, devil's claw
Senegalia greggii is a shrub that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in western North America.
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
DJJJASONAFMM

Bloom Period
Genus: Senegalia
Family: Fabaceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Wetlands: Occurs usually in non wetlands, occasionally in wetlands

Communities: Creosote Bush Scrub, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF + PLANTS

Alternate Names:
PLANTSAcacia greggii var. arizonica
JEF + PLANTSAcacia greggii var. greggii
JEF + PLANTSAcacia greggii
Information about  Senegalia greggii from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
This plant is available commercially.
Jepson eFlora

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Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

ID Tips on PlantID.net

[Wikipedia] Ethobotany: Senegalia greggii, even though it is used as forage for livestock, contains a potentially poisonous cyanogenic glycoside called prunasin.Mature seeds are to be avoided, as the native people did. The young, unripe beans of S. greggii were gathered and eaten by desert tribes of North America, including the Chemehuevi of the Southern Paiute, the Pima, and the Cahuilla. The Cahuilla also ground the dried beans for mush and cakes, while the Havasupai ground it to make flour for bread. The Seri ground the beans to meal then mixed it with water and sea lion oil for porridge. The Diegueno used S. greggii as food for domesticated animals. The Pimas and Tohono O'odham ate the seeds as pinole. The Cahuilla and Pima used the fibers for sturdy construction material and firewood. The Havasupai split the twigs and used them for basketry, but also used the twigs as a broom to brush off metates. The O'odham used the broken twigs for baskets, and were curved to make intricate weaves in the baskets. The Pima used the dried bushes to pile them to make a brush fence. The branches were used to make cradle frames as well. The Tohono O'odham fitted the branches around deer hunters' heads to make a disguise, and the buds and blossoms were dried to make perfume sachets by the women. The sticks were also used to dislodge saguaro fruits from the cactus body, and rods were curved to flesh animal skins. The Akimel O'odham made bows out of the wood. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2024. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 11/21/2024).