Service continues to recognise A. pinetorum, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture recognises V. farnesiana var. pinetorum. In France, two old cultivars have been developed for the perfume industry. These were also recognised as varieties at one time. Etymology The specific name farnesiana honors Odoardo Farnese (1573–1626) of the notable Italian Farnese family, which after 1550, under the patronage of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, maintained some of the first private European botanical gardens in Rome, the Farnese Gardens, in the 16th and 17th centuries. This acacia was first described from these gardens, imported to Italy from Santo Domingo, in what is now the Dominican Republic. 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. The name huisache of Mexico and Texas is derived from Nahuatl and means "many thorns". The Australian name needle bush came about because of the numerous thorns distributed along its branches. Distribution and habitat Of all Acacia species, this plant has the greatest distribution. 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. The native range of V. farnesiana has been or is sometimes disputed. While the point of origin is thought to be the Caribbean, the Guianas, Mexico, and/or Central America, the species has a pantropical distribution incorporating most of the Americas (from the Southern U.S. to Chile, excluding the Amazon), most of Australia, much of Africa, southern Europe, and southern Asia. In the Caribbean, it is present from the Bahamas and Cuba south to Trinidad, Curaçao, and Aruba, where in it is believed to be native to Hispaniola and certainly Cuba, but possibly native or naturalised elsewhere. In the U.S., it is thought to be native to southern Texas, southern New Mexico, southern Arizona, and southern California, but perhaps naturalized in southern Louisiana, coastal Mississippi, coastal Alabama, coastal Georgia, and southern Florida. 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 has long been thought to be native to the Philippines and Australia, having spread there by natural means, because plants were