catclaw acacia, Senegalia greggii

Not all the puffball-style flowers in the pea family come in round heads. Many, including catclaw, are cylindrical. Catclaw is also called wait-a-minute because it seems to reach out a grab you with its many thorns. These days it might be saying "Wait a minute" about a wall that would run right down the middle of its range. Catclaw grows in AZ, CA, NM, NV, TX, UT, and adjacent Mexico. Foellinger-Freeman Botanical Observatory, Allen Co IN, 5/13/17.