''Acaciella'' is a

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

family,

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

, and its subfamily

Mimosoideae The Mimosoideae are a traditional subfamily of trees, herbs, lianas, and shrubs in the pea family (Fabaceae) that mostly grow in tropical and subtropical climates. They are typically characterized by having radially symmetric flowers, with petals ...

. Its

centre of diversity A center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. They are also considered centers of diversity. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by N ...

is along the Mexican

Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

. They are unarmed, have no

extrafloral nectaries Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to anim ...

and the polyads of their

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

are 8-celled. Though its numerous free stamens (sometimes >300) is typical of '' Acacia s.l.'', it has several characteristics in common with genus ''

Piptadenia ''Piptadenia'' is a genus of tropical shrubs and trees of the family Fabaceae. Species *'' Piptadenia adiantoides'' (Sprengel) Macbr. *''Piptadenia affinis'' Burkart *''Piptadenia anolidurus'' Barneby *'' Piptadenia buchananii'' *'' Piptadenia ...

'' (tribe Mimoseae). Its pollen and free

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...

s resemble that of ''

Senegalia ''Senegalia'' (from Senegal and ''Acacia senegal'' (L.) Willd.) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the Mimosoid clade. Until 2005, its species were considered members of ''Acacia.'' The genus was considered polyp ...

''. Molecular studies place it sister to a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

clade comprising elements of genus ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

'', and the tribe

Ingeae The Mimosoideae are a traditional subfamily of trees, herbs, lianas, and shrubs in the pea family ( Fabaceae) that mostly grow in tropical and subtropical climates. They are typically characterized by having radially symmetric flowers, with peta ...

. A nectary ring is present between the stamens and ovary, in common with ''Acacia'' subg. ''Aculeiferum''.

Species

*''

Acaciella angustissima ''Acaciella angustissima'' (prairie acacia, white ball acacia, ocpatl, or palo de pulque) is most recognized for its drought tolerance and its ability to be used as a green manure and ground covering. It is a perennial, deciduous, and belongs to ...

'' (Mill.) Britton & Rose—Prairie acacia, Prairie wattle, Fern acacia **var. ''angustissima '' (Mill.) Britton & Rose **var. ''chisosiana'' —Chisos acacia, Chisos prairie acacia, Prairie acacia **var. ''filicoides'' (Cav.) L. Rico **var. ''hirta'' —Prairie acacia **var. ''shrevei'' —Shreve's Prairie acacia ** var. ''suffrutescens'' —Prairie acacia **var. ''texensis'' (Nutt. ex Torrey & A. Gray) L. Rico—Prairie wattle, Whiteball acacia *''

Acaciella barrancana ''Acaciella'' is a Neotropical genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, and its subfamily Mimosoideae. Its centre of diversity is along the Mexican Pacific coast. They are unarmed, have no extrafloral nectaries and the polya ...

'' (H. Gentry) L. Rico *''

Acaciella bicolor ''Acaciella'' is a Neotropical genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, and its subfamily Mimosoideae. Its centre of diversity is along the Mexican Pacific coast. They are unarmed, have no extrafloral nectaries and the polya ...

'' Britton & Rose *''

Acaciella chamelensis ''Acaciella'' is a Neotropical genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, and its subfamily Mimosoideae. Its centre of diversity is along the Mexican Pacific coast. They are unarmed, have no extrafloral nectaries and the polya ...

'' (L. Rico) L. Rico *''

Acaciella glauca ''Acaciella'' is a Neotropical genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, and its subfamily Mimosoideae. Its centre of diversity is along the Mexican Pacific coast. They are unarmed, have no extrafloral nectaries and the polya ...

'' (L.) L. Rico—Yellow tamarind acacia, (''Jamaica'') Yellow tamarind *''

Acaciella goldmanii ''Acaciella'' is a Neotropical genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, and its subfamily Mimosoideae. Its centre of diversity is along the Mexican Pacific coast. They are unarmed, have no extrafloral nectaries and the polya ...

'' Britton & Rose *''

Acaciella hartwegii ''Acaciella'' is a Neotropical genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, and its subfamily Mimosoideae. Its centre of diversity is along the Mexican Pacific coast. They are unarmed, have no extrafloral nectaries and the polya ...

'' (Benth.) Britton & Rose *''

Acaciella igualensis ''Acaciella'' is a Neotropical genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, and its subfamily Mimosoideae. Its centre of diversity is along the Mexican Pacific coast. They are unarmed, have no extrafloral nectaries and the polya ...

'' Britton & Rose *''

Acaciella lemmonii ''Acaciella'' is a Neotropical genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, and its subfamily Mimosoideae. Its centre of diversity is along the Mexican Pacific coast. They are unarmed, have no extrafloral nectaries and the polya ...

'' (Rose) L. Rico *''

Acaciella painteri ''Acaciella'' is a Neotropical genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, and its subfamily Mimosoideae. Its centre of diversity is along the Mexican Pacific coast. They are unarmed, have no extrafloral nectaries and the polya ...

'' Britton & Rose **var. ''houghii'' (Britton & Rose) L. Rico **var. ''painteri'' Britton & Rose *''

Acaciella rosei ''Acaciella'' is a Neotropical genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, and its subfamily Mimosoideae. Its centre of diversity is along the Mexican Pacific coast. They are unarmed, have no extrafloral nectaries and the polya ...

'' (Standl.) L. Rico *'' Acaciella sotoi'' L. Rico *'' Acaciella sousae'' (L. Rico) L. Rico *'' Acaciella tequilana'' (S. Wats.) Britton & Rose **var. ''crinita'' (Rose) L. Rico **var. ''pubifoliolata'' L. Rico **var. ''tequilana'' (S. Wats.) Britton & Rose *'' Acaciella villosa'' (Sw.) Britton & Rose

References

*Daniel J. Murphy (2008), A review of the classification of ''Acacia''. Fabaceae genera Neotropical realm flora {{Mimosoideae-stub