Sweet Acacia. Farnesiana Or smallii Fabaceae Family ( Pea ) Sweet Acacia. Also Called: Huisache, Popinac, or Cassie. We wish to thank Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for some of the information on this page. We share images and information with Wikipedia. A fast growing deciduous tree that is blooming during Thanksgiving - Christmas season to early spring with a wonderful sweet smell. Its' flowers can be used in perfumes. Some people use them for a closet freshner. Spiny, many-branched, small tree with a widely spreading, flattened crown, and fragrant yellow balls of tiny flowers. Botanists can not agree as to which family Sweet Acacia belongs. Some say it is of the a member of the Mimosa family and may be a native of Africa. They can't even agree as to whether it is Acacia Farnesiana or Acacia smallii. Landscapers say that their experience over the last 10 to 15 years has shown that Acacia farnesiana is severely (and sometime fatally) damaged by temperatures below 20 to 25 degrees F. In contrast, they say, Acacia smallii appears hardy to about 15 to 20 degrees F. and survives most central and southern Arizona and southern California winters. So, Plant Hardiness, may be the difference! Quick Notes: Height: About 15 - 25 feet. We have seen trees between 35� to 45� and about 30� wide Flowers: 3/16" long; yellow or orange; very fragrant; including many tiny stamens clustered in stalked balls 1/2" in diameter; mainly in late winter and early spring. Flowering Time: Early November - March or April. Seed Pod: Seedpods 1 1/2 - 3" long, 3/8 - 1/2" in diameter; a cylindrical pod; short-pointed at ends, dark brown or black, hard; maturing in summer, remaining attached, often opening late; many elliptical flattened shiny brown; seeds inside. Stems/Trunks: Trunks 3 to 8 inches in diameter. Grayish-brown, thin, smooth or scaly bark. Stems slightly zigzag, slender, covered with fine hairs when young; with straight, slender, paired white spines at nodes. Leaves: Alternate or clustered; bipinnately compound; 2 - 4" long; usually with 3 - 5 pairs of side axes. 10 - 20 pairs of leaflets 1/8 - 1/4" long; oblong, mostly hairless, stalkless; gray-green. Found: Ornamental in lower elevations or Arizona. Introduced from tropical America; however some botanists disagree and say it is from Africa. Hardiness: USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8 �C (25 �F) USDA Zone 10a: to -1.1 �C (30 �F) USDA Zone 10b: to 1.7 �C (35 �F) USDA Zone 11: above 4.5 �C (40 �F) Soil pH requirements: 6.6 to 7.5 (neutral) 7.6 to 7.8 (mildly alkaline) 7.9 to 8.5 (alkaline) Sun Exposure: Full Sun Elevation: 0 - 2,000 feet. Habitat: Dry, well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils on upper bajadas and moderate slopes, washes, flats, and canyons. in the lower mountains. A most attractive and abundant plant along roadsides, plains, and mesas. An ideal xeriscape landscape plant in Arizona. Miscellaneous: Flowering Photos Taken January 16, 2004 in Glendale, Arizona area. Not native to Arizona. But found Statewide. Very common low water use landscaping plant in the Phoenix and Tucson areas.