Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 5 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Acacia insuavis Lace; Acacia pennata (L.) Willd. subsp. insuavis (Lace) I. C. Nielsen; Senegalia insuavis (Lace) Pedley

Habit:  shrub

Description: 

Acacia pennata:  "Scandent shrub or woody climber; branchlets terete, armed with straight to recurved prickles 0.5-4 mm long, with longitudinal dark and light grey lines, ultimate parts of branchlets yellowish to light brown, tomentose to velutinous, with light-coloured glands, glabrescent. Stipules lanceolate, oblong or ovate-lanceolate, sometimes with a cordate base, apex sometimes cuspidate. Leaves evenly scattered along the stem; rachis (7.5-) 8.5-21 cm, puberulous, petiole 1.5-4 cm, with a gland 0.3-0.7(-1.4) cm above the base, usually just above the basal pulvinus, circular to broadly elliptic in outline, margins raised, or patelliform (or saddle-like), l-3.5 (-4) mm in diameter, and with similar but smaller glands on the rachis at the junctions of the 1-5 distal pairs of pinnae; pinnae 10-23 pairs, 2-7 cm, puberulous; leaflets 24-75 (-92) pairs per pinna, opposite, sessile, chartaceous, linear-oblong, (2-) 2.5-6.5 (-7) by 0.3-1.2 (-1.5) mm, base asymmetrically truncate, apex ± straight, acute, both surfaces glabrous but margin sometimes ciliate towards base; main vein starting at the front margin, not parallel to it; lateral veins inconspicuous. Inflorescences consisting of pedunculate glomerules aggregated into terminal tomentose to woolly racemes or panicles; glomerules 6-8 mm in diameter, floral bracts not projecting the flowerbuds. Flowers sessile or subsessile, yellowish or creamy, fragrant, male or bisexual within one glomerule, pentamerous. Calyx 1.5-2 mm, tube glabrous, teeth triangular-ovate, c. 0.4-0.5 mm, often puberulous at the apex. Corolla 2.1-2.8 mm; lobes oblong, acute, 0.5-1.1 mm. Stamens 3.5-5 mm. Ovary 0.7-1 mm, villous, stipe 0.8-1 mm. Pod light brown to red-brown, oblong, gradually narrowing into a 0.8-1.5 cm stalk, margins slightly sinuate, (6.5-) 9-15.5 by (1.3-) 1.7-2.4 cm; valves hardly bullate across the seeds, chartaceous, glabrous, with scattered, sessile glands, veins transverse, hardly visible. Seeds (not seen quite ripe) black, broadly elliptic, c. 7 by 5 mm; areole 4.5 by 2 mm, pleurogram parallel to the margin, funicle once contorted beneath the seed"  (van Steenis, 1992; ser. I, Vol. 11(1), p. 53).

subsp. insuavis:  "This thorny multipurpose shrub or small tree up to 5 m tall grows extensively throughout [Thailand] in homesteads. However, small plantations for commercial harvest of edible leaves can be also found. The stem is thorny. Young branches are pubescent, green in colour and turn brown with age. A large gland is present on the main rachis of leaves above the middle of the petiole. Leaves are bipinnate, pinnae 8-18 pairs; pinnules linear-oblong, glabrous, base oblique or truncate, up to 50 pairs per pinna, ciliate on the margins loosely set and overlapping. Flowers are in large terminal panicles, heads globose and pale yellow. The pods are thin, flat and long with thick sutures"  (Suree Bhumibhamon, Andaman Institute).

Habitat/ecology:  "Monsoon-forest, scrubby forest, scrub; altitude 20-1200 m"  (van Steenis, 1992; ser. I, Vol. 11(1), p. 53).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Myanmar (GRIN)

Comments:  The leaves are used in Southeast Asian cooking and the plant may be introduced for that purpose.

Control:  If you know of control methods for Senegalia pennata subsp. insuavis, please let us know.