Family: Fabaceae
Vachellia campeachiana (formerly Acacia cochliacantha) is a thorny shrub or small tree native to Mexico, Honduras, and Cuba. It usually grows 5–30 feet tall and is easy to spot with its stiff branches and long, sharp spines. This hardy species thrives in dry forests, scrublands, and disturbed places such as pastures or abandoned fields. It tolerates a wide range of conditions and can quickly spread, forming dense, nearly impenetrable thickets.
Beyond its toughness, this plant plays an important ecological role. Like many legumes, it fixes nitrogen, improving soil for other plants. It is also being studied for its ability to absorb heavy metals, making it useful for restoring polluted lands. People have long used parts of the plant for practical and cultural purposes: the roasted seeds can be ground into flour for food, the branches have been used to make violin bows, and traditional medicine employs it to treat stomach and bladder ailments. Despite its ecological benefits, Vachellia campechiana can become invasive outside its native range, outcompeting local vegetation due to its aggressive growth and thorny defenses. The plant’s invasiveness highlights the importance of careful species selection in reforestation and landscaping to avoid ecological harm.
High Risk Traits:
- Native to tropical dry forests and disturbed areas; may thrive in similar habitats in Hawaiʻi
- Widely naturalized outside its native range
- Forms dense, thorny thickets that can exclude other vegetation
- Fast-growing and tolerant of disturbance
- Spiny branches make it difficult to manage or remove
- Nitrogen-fixing ability can alter soil chemistry and ecosystem dynamics
- Seeds are edible and durable, with potential for human-assisted spread
Low Risk Traits:
- Not widely used as an ornamental in Hawaiʻi
- No evidence of shade tolerance, less likely to invade intact forests
- Reproduction mainly by seed; no evidence of vegetative spread
