Guajillo

Sun; can be grown in partial shade. Semi-evergreen Guajillo makes a nice complement to deciduous trees and shrubs because it often retains its delicate fernlike foliage in winter, providing shade and winter wildlife shelter. Creamy puff flowers during the warm season are used by bees to produce an excellent, clear commercial honey.

Growing on its own as a fountain of woody stems, guajillo can be trained into various shapes and can be kept as a low evergreen screen, or alternately, a vase-shaped spreading specimen suitable for small settings. Unlike most acacias, guajillo’s thorns are tiny and unobtrusive, little more than prickles (“thornless acacia” is one of its common names). Extremely drought-hardy; a southwest Texas native. It may be difficult to find in commercial nurseries, but look for it at specialty native growers.