Acacia verticillata prickly Moses

An acacia quite unlike any other on campus, its phyllodes take the form of delicate-looking needles about ½ inch long, arranged in neat whorls (verticils) around the stem, but sharp if grasped. In Australia, several other acacias are also known as prickly Moses, apparently a folk alteration of mimosa. The bright yellow blossoms are set on short spikes, and can be seen in March; they develop into slender, papery pods that hang in clusters.

A shrubby hedge is on the south side of Mirada Avenue where it meets Santa Ynez Street, among a riot of other plants. A vigorous specimen in the back yard of 849 Pine Hill Road can be viewed from where the footpath from San Francisco Court joins Bowdoin Street. A formidable hedge of A. armata, kangaroo thorn, bristling with spines, once grew near this spot. An example of prickly Moses on Campus Drive opposite Via Ortega was lost to road realignment in the 1990s.

Acacia verticillata. From An Illustrated Manual of Pacific Coast Trees, Howard E. McMinn & Evelyn Maino