Prairie acacia. Timbre. Fernleaf Acacia (Acacia angustissima)

Family: Fabaceae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

A. angustissima is native to North America (Mexico and southern United States), Central America and South America (Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina) (Rico Arce and Bachman, 2006). It is one of the acacias most widely distributed in the Neotropics (Cook et al., 2005). Outside its native range it is reported for the Caribbean, Asia, Africa and Oceania (see distribution table for details).

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Nuts/Seeds, Bark/Inner Bark

Harvest Seasons: Late Summer, Fall, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

The seedpods have been used for food by local peoples. The bitter astringent bark is used in Mexico for precipitating mucilaginous matter and inducing fermentation in the making of alcoholic drinks. — The seedpods have been used for food by local peoples.; The bitter astringent bark is used in Mexico for precipitating mucilaginous matter and inducing fermentation in the making of alcoholic drinks.

Habitat & North American Range

It is a subtropical plant. Hillsides, rock slopes, summits and in grassland with other shrubs, often in deciduous or semi-deciduous forest. Mostly on rather dry, often rocky, brushy slopes or in thin forest, frequent in pine-oak forest, sometimes in hedges, to 2,700 m. (Zone 7, Zone 8, Zone 9, Zone 10)