Acacia podalyriifolia pearl acacia

Hiding in plain sight for years, undocumented and unnoticed, Stanford’s sole pearl acacia revealed itself in 2023 only when construction fencing around the reconfigured section of Campus Drive east of Knight Management Center was removed. There it crouched, near the Campus Drive pathway opposite Bonair Siding (map pin), still tethered to its wobbly stakes now uprooted by the vigorous growth of its multiple low-branching trunks.

The rounded silvery gray phyllodes, about 1½ inches long with a small protruding tip (mucro), instantly distinguish the species from other local acacias. The branchlets are covered in a powdery whitish coating. Small heads of yellow flowers are held on racemes that protrude from the foliage. Our specimen starts to flower in early January, before any of our other acacias.