Ebony Blackbead

Ebenopsis flexicaulis (Benth.) Britton & Rose
Acacia flexicaiilis Benth. Lend. Journ. Bot. 1: 505. 1842. Piihecolobium flexicaule Coult. Bot. Gaz. 15: 270. 1890. Piihecolobium lexense Coult. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 1: 37. 1890. Siderocarptis flexicaulis Small, Bull. N. Y. Bot. Gard. 2: 91. 1901. Samanea flexicaulis Macbride, Contr. Gray Herb. 59: 2. 1919. Zygia flexicaulis Sudw. Bull. U. S. Dept. Agr. Div. For. 14: 248. 1897.
A tree, 5-15 m. high, or shrubby, the twigs puberulent or glabrate. Stipular spines 6-12 ram. long; petioles slender, short; pinnae 2 or 3 pairs; leaflets 3-5 pairs, chartaceous, glabrous, oblong to obovate, rounded or obtuse, 5-12 mm. long, reticulate-veined, shining; peduncles pubescent, 1-2 cm. long; spikes dense, slender, 2-4 cm. long; flowers yellow, fragrant; calyx about 0.5 rrmi. long; corolla about 3 mm. long, the lobes longer than the tube; stamen-tube nearly as long as the corolla; legume turgid, 10-15 cm. long, about 2.5 cm. wide; seeds 10-15 mm. long.
Type locality: Texas.
Distribution: Southern Texas to Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Yucatan.