Plant nomenclature is a rapidly changing science. When lots of plant names radically change (as you’ll see that they have below) it creates a world of trouble for horticulturists. The changes below are going to be a royal pain in the ass for nurseries, designers, and landscapers. Sometimes I wish we could agree on a list of common names and let the taxonomy happen in the background. This list was forwarded over to me from Greg Corman. It is from Matt Johnson at the Desert Legume Program.
Sadly, the Aussie’s got to keep the genus name Acacia, and all of the North American “Acacias” are now changed:
Acacia angustissima à Acaciella angustissima
Acacia constricta à Vachellia constricta
Acacia farnesiana à Vachellia farnesiana
Acacia greggii à Senegalia greggii
Acacia millefolia à Mariosousa millefolia
Acacia neovernicosa à Vachellia vernicosa
Our horticultural Caesalpinia and Sophora also have recently been reclassified:
Caesalpinia cacalaco à (combination apparently not yet published, but will become Tara cacalaco)
Caesalpinia gilliesii à Erythrostemon gilliesii
Caesalpinia mexicana à Poincianella mexicana
Caesalpinia palmeri à Poincianella palmeri
Caesalpinia paraguariensis à Libidibia paraguariensis
Caesalpinia pulcherrima à unchanged
Sophora arizonica à Dermatophyllum arizonicum
Sophora secundiflora à Dermatophyllum secundiflorum
And a few more of the acacias grown here in horticulture:
Acacia berlandieri à Senegalia berlandieri
Acacia occidentalis à Senegalia occidentalis
Acacia rigidula à Vachellia rigidula
Acacia schaffneri à Vachellia bravoana
Acacia visco à Senegalia visco
Acacia willardiana à Mariosousa willardiana
Acacia wrightii à Senegalia wrightii