[16] It was first described by Europeans under the name Acacia Indica Farnesiana in 1625 by Tobias Aldini from plants grown in Rome in the Farnese Gardens from seed collected in Santo Domingo, in what is now the Dominican Republic, which germinated in 1611.

[12] A paper in 1989 by H. D. Clarke, D. S. Seigler and J. E. Ebinger finally cleared up some of this confusion, synonymising Acacia smallii and a number of other taxa under the nominate form of A. farnesiana, under which they also included all of the plants growing outside of the Americas.

pinetorum in 2002 by Clarke, Seigler and Ebinger (rendering the nominate form A. farnesiana subsp.

It remains controversial; most taxonomic authorities in Mexico and Central America recognise this taxon as a full species under either A. guanacastensis or Vachellia guanacastensis, the Árboles nativos e introduciados de El Salvador of 2009 subsumed it under Acacia farnesiana.

It is recognised as present in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the southern Gulf and southwestern regions of Mexico by the Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (2018), but whether the taxon as recognised by the different authorities replaces Acacia farnesiana in Central America (but not the Caribbean or South America) or exists sympatrically remains unclear.

This has implications for the classification of the extra-American distribution of A. farnesiana as the populations growing in Australia and the Philippines have recently (2017) been shown to derive from ancient Central American origins.

[22][23][24][18] Analysis of essences of the floral extract from this plant, long used in perfumery, resulted in the name for the sesquiterpene biosynthetic chemical farnesol, found as a basic sterol precursor in plants, and cholesterol precursor in animals.

[23][failed verification] The name huisache of Mexico and Texas is derived from Nahuatl and means "many thorns".

It was first described by Europeans in 1625 by Tobias Aldini from plants grown from seed collected in Santo Domingo, in what is now the Dominican Republic.

Whether the extra-American distribution is natural (the seed pods have probably floated across the Pacific) or anthropogenic remains disputed.

It was introduced to Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa, and recently Gran Canaria and Hawaii.

It readily spreads in commercial grazing pastures, especially along creeks, which might affect ease of transport for farmers, complicates muster, and can damage farm machinery.

The seeds are dispersed by cattle after they eat the nutritious pods, and growth is promoted by overgrazing.

[27][28][29][30] The plant has been spread to many new locations as a result of human activity, and it is considered a serious weed in Fiji, where locals call it Ellington's curse.

Flowers of the plant provide the perfume essence from which the biologically important sesquiterpenoid farnesol is named.

The plant's young leaves, flowers, and seed pods are edible raw or cooked.

[25] V. farnesiana has been used in Colombia to treat malaria, and in one in vitro study, an ethanol extract from the leaves showed some activity against the malarial pathogen Plasmodium falciparum with an IC50 value of 1 to 2 microgram/millilitre (as did almost everything tested), though it showed no activity in animal models or a ferriprotoporphyrin biomineralization inhibition test.

[34] In Malaysia, an infusion of the plant's flowers and leaves is mixed with turmeric for post-partum treatment.