Cats Claw Tree
The Cat's Claw (Zigia Unguis-cati, Sudw.), of southern Florida, has persistent, twice pinnate leaves, each division bearing but two leaflets. A pair of spines guards the base of each leaf. The flowers are in compound panicles; the pods long, thin, and contorted in ripening. The shape of the petals is described by the tree's name.The Cat's Claw (Acacia Wrightii, Benth.), of western Texas, is less graceful than the huisache, and more often seen as a shrub. The yellow flowers are borne in finger-like close racemes. The pods are large, flat and irregular, with small, oval seeds. The leaves are twice pinnate; the spines, short and recurved.
The Cat's Claw (Acacia Greggii, Gray), of the region from western Texas to California, differs from A. Wrightii in having its pods twisted, and its seeds larger and circular in outline.