Brush - Range & Pasture - Huisache

BES-TEX BRUSH ID GUIDE

Huisache

Sweet Acacia, Mealy Acacia

Acacia smallii

Perennial Woody Brush

Plant Type

Thorny shrub or small tree; legume family (Fabaceae)

Life Cycle

Perennial; native

Leaf Habit

Deciduous

Typical Height

Up to 30 ft (Texas A&M)

Photo Gallery

Huisache branch covered in round yellow puffball flowers — **Flowers** Photo: Zeynel Cebeci, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Huisache branches with fernlike leaves and clusters of plump curved pods — **Pods and Leaves** Photo: Judgefloro, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

How to Identify It

Quick ID

Leaves

Gray-green, twice-compound (bipinnate) leaves
8 to 16 divisions, each with 10 to 20 pairs of small fern-like leaflets (Texas A&M)

Thorns & Stems

Paired, straight, pale, pin-like spines
Grows multiple trunks (Texas A&M)

Flowers

Fragrant yellow to orange fluffy balls (Texas A&M)

Pods

Cylindrical pods 1 1/2 to 3 inches long
Turn dark brown or black when mature (Texas A&M)

Look-Alikes

Twisted Acacia

Huisache has a spreading growth form, a shorter and broader pod, and its leaf-stalk gland is absent or near the middle of the stalk (Texas A&M)

Mesquite

How to tell it apart from huisache: [PLACEHOLDER]

Counter script: "If it is a multi-trunk thorny tree with paired pin-like spines, feathery gray-green leaves, and fluffy yellow-orange flower balls, it is most likely huisache."

Where It Grows

Texas

Commonly found in Central and South Texas (Texas A&M)
Ecoregions (Texas A&M): Gulf Prairies and Marshes, Post Oak Savannah, Blackland Prairies, South Texas Plains, Edwards Plateau

Oklahoma

[PLACEHOLDER]

New Mexico

[PLACEHOLDER]

Sites and soils: Grows in a variety of soils, most often on deep, poorly drained, sandy or clay lowlands (Texas A&M).

Best Time to Control

Brush Busters leaf spray season for huisache is September through November, or until soil temperature at 12 inches drops below 75°F. Stem sprays can be used on smooth-bark stems. The Surmount label notes fall applications work best on huisache.

Huisache is a woody perennial. No pre-emergent herbicide controls huisache.

Treatment Methods

Foliar (Leaf) Spray

Best for plants under 6 ft tall (Brush Busters)
Example product: Sendero (Corteva)
Mix (Brush Busters): Sendero 1% (1.28 oz per gallon of water) + surfactant 1/4% + marker dye
Also labeled: Surmount (Corteva) at 1% with surfactant, fall works best (Surmount label)

Basal Bark (Stem) Spray

Best for smooth-bark stems up to 4 inches across, with 3 or fewer stems (Brush Busters)
Example product: Remedy Ultra (Corteva)
Mix (Brush Busters): Remedy Ultra 25% (32 oz + 96 oz diesel or basal oil per gallon)
Also labeled: PastureGard HL (Corteva) basal and streamline basal; follow the label

Cut Stump

Cut every stem flat, close to (not below) the soil surface
Brush off soil and sawdust, then spray the cut surface and the sides of the stump right away
Example product: Remedy Ultra (Corteva); Brush Busters lists huisache for this method
Mix (Brush Busters): Remedy Ultra 15% (19 oz per gallon) in diesel or vegetable oil

Individual Plant vs. Broadcast

Brush Busters methods above are for individual plants
Sendero broadcast on huisache is listed for suppression only (Sendero label); follow the label

Product names are examples only. Always read and follow the product label. For product selection and help, contact BES-TEX at 325.653.1300.

Sources: Brush Busters: How to Beat Huisache (Texas A&M AgriLife) for Sendero and Remedy Ultra mixes; Brush Busters: How to Avoid Lumps When Treating Cut Stumps; Sendero label, EPA Reg. No. 62719-645; Surmount label, EPA Reg. No. 62719-480; PastureGard HL label, EPA Reg. No. 62719-637; Texas A&M Plants of Texas Rangelands.