Brush - Range & Pasture - Blackbrush Acacia

BES-TEX BRUSH ID GUIDE

Blackbrush Acacia

Blackbrush, Chaparro Prieto, Gavia

Acacia rigidula

Perennial Woody Brush

Plant Type

Thorny shrub or small tree; legume family (Fabaceae)

Life Cycle

Perennial; native

Leaf Habit

[PLACEHOLDER]

Typical Height

Up to about 12 ft (Texas A&M)

Photo Gallery

Low, dense blackbrush acacia shrub with small dark green leaves — **Whole Plant** Photo: Don A. W. Carlson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Blackbrush acacia branches covered with pale yellow flower spikes — **Flowering Branches** Photo: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

How to Identify It

Quick ID

Leaves

Pinnately compound, typical of the legume family
Each division has 1 to 8 small leaflets (Texas A&M)

Thorns & Branches

Zigzag branches with short, straight thorns in pairs
Whitish bark (Texas A&M)

Flowers

White to yellow
Bloom March to June (Texas A&M)

Pods

Narrow, curved, flat pods 2 to 4 inches long
Reddish brown when ripe (Texas A&M)

Look-Alikes

Catclaw Acacia

How to tell it apart from blackbrush: [PLACEHOLDER]

Guajillo

How to tell it apart from blackbrush: [PLACEHOLDER]

Counter script: "If it is a South Texas shrub with whitish bark, zigzag branches with short straight paired thorns, and tiny leaflets, it is most likely blackbrush."

Where It Grows

Texas

Common on South Texas brushland; Rio Grande Plain to Austin and the Big Bend region (Texas A&M)
Ecoregions (Texas A&M): Gulf Prairies and Marshes, South Texas Plains, Edwards Plateau, Trans-Pecos

Oklahoma

[PLACEHOLDER]

New Mexico

[PLACEHOLDER]

Sites and soils: Most often on sandy or calcareous soils and limestone caliche ridges and hills (Texas A&M).

Best Time to Control

Best treatment timing for blackbrush: [PLACEHOLDER]. Follow the product label. Cut stump treatments can be done after cutting.

Blackbrush is a woody perennial. No pre-emergent herbicide controls blackbrush.

Treatment Methods

Foliar / Broadcast

Sendero (Corteva) lists Acacia spp. including blackbrush; broadcast rate 1.75 pt per acre (Sendero label)
Spray timing and individual-plant mix: follow the label

Basal Bark (Stem) Spray

Remedy Ultra (Corteva) lists blackbrush (Remedy Ultra label)
Mix: 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 blackbrush for this method
Mix (Brush Busters): Remedy Ultra 15% (19 oz per gallon) in diesel or vegetable oil

Individual Plant vs. Broadcast

Density guidance for this plant: [PLACEHOLDER]
Follow the label for broadcast use

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: Sendero label, EPA Reg. No. 62719-645 (Acacia spp.); Remedy Ultra label, EPA Reg. No. 62719-552; Brush Busters: How to Avoid Lumps When Treating Cut Stumps (Texas A&M AgriLife); Texas A&M Plants of Texas Rangelands.