Acacia angustissima  Whiteball Acacia
DECIDUOUS SHRUB.  Seldom more than 2 m tall, and may freeze back almost completely in winter.  Stems very hairy, grooved, thornless.  Leaves large, bipinnate, with hairy leafstalks.  Spherical clusters of fluffy white flowers are loosely grouped at the end of a stem, not in leaf axils.  Blooms May-July.  Seedpods flat, thin, dark brown, with oval seeds.  Rare in the Empires along washes in desert grassland, often with other Acacia and Mimosa.  Other Acacia have much smaller leaves, except A. millefolia which has smooth stems, elongate flower clusters, broader pods, and rounder seeds.  Mimosa aculeaticarpa has much smaller leaves and pods, stout thorns, flowers in the leaf axils, and the stamens are thicker and less crowded.  Lysiloma watsonii (not found in the Empires, but known from the Rincons) is a taller shrub or tree and has hairless stems that are not grooved.
FAMILY:  Fabaceae (Pea Family)