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[Mrgreenthumm]

Found a beautiful specimen on a back road locally. I'm wondering about this one because of its lack of thorns. I am familiar with A. greggii but they have some nasty recurved thorns and they usually stay shrub sized here. This was a tree! At least 12 ft. tall and multi branched. Thorns are few and far between. Also the thorns are tiny. These are the pics of tree, branch, seed pod, and one tiny seed. Don't know if it's a mature seed either. There were only 2 pods on the tree. Don't know what flower color but most Acacias around here flower yellow.

[happyconcacti]

Hmmmmmm, my first guess was A. greggii as you suggested.

But after thinking about it a bit more, could it possibly be a Desert Ironwood? Was this in the South West, USA? The seeds seem to look different though.

Is the seed spherical or more flat?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olneya

[Mrgreenthumm]

The seed is very flat and yes, this is in southwest Tx. I have seen quite a few greggii seeds this season and these pods (tree in question)seem more slender and elongated. Greggii also seem to have a more contoured, roundness in the pods, curving around each seed. I'll have to go scour around the ground soon to see if I can find a few more pods. I'll post more pics if I do. I'll see if I can get a close up of the thorns too.

[happyconcacti]

Also, if you could snap some photos of the bark that would help too.

Is the plant in a "natural" or urban area?

[Mrgreenthumm]

Here are a few new pics of the "Acacia?" Tree in question. I was lucky and found more pods on the ground the yielded to very viable looking seeds and also a single immature seed. Also as I was crawling to snap a pic of the trunk, a golden sap ball became visible to me. It formed on one of the main trunks. I couldn't resist scraping it off to get a better look    Pic of seeds (greggii on left, other Acacia on right)

[Mrgreenthumm]

Seeds (top-unknown tree, bottom-greggii) My phone won't post pics upright for some reason  And it is in an urban area along the fence line.

[happyconcacti]

hmmmm, the seeds truly resemble Acacia greggii seeds: They're of similar shape and they have that lighter color ring as well. The leaves look very similar and so does the bark. Waiting until it flowers might be the only sure way to ID it.

But, Yes, I've never seen one grow upright like a tree. Is it possible that it's being pruned into that shape? We often prune Acacia constricta into tree-like shapes in the pastures so the horses aren't bothered by them. They take on a nice "bonsai" form after a few years.

Have you noticed any knots where branches have been pruned off near the base of the trunk?

[Mrgreenthumm]

Not a chance anyone has pruned this tree. It's in the big middle of nowhere, dead limbs and all. It seems multi-trunked with the trunks at an angle sprouting out of the ground before they turn upright. This may just be the oldest greggii I've ever come across(or some var. thereof). I agree that we need to see flowers on this one. I will definitely keep an eye on it next spring. Thanks for all the input! Below are picks of what seem like normal greggii from this area to me.

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[Mrgreenthumm]

Another greggii