Acacia constricta  Whitethorn Acacia
DECIDUOUS SHRUB or SMALL TREE.  Pairs of long white thorns on slender purplish-red branches.  Bipinnate leaves with four or more pairs of leaflets and five or more pairs of leaflet segments.  Bright yellow flower balls in May and again in late summer after rain.  Seedpods in clusters, long and thin, constricted between the seeds.  In the Empires, common in arroyos and overgrazed areas in desertscrub and desert grassland.
FAMILY:  Fabaceae (Pea Family)