Fabaceae
Vachellia

Vachellia erioloba (E.Mey.) P.J.H.Hurter

First published in D.J.Mabberley, Plant-book, ed. 3: 1021 (2008)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is S. Tropical & S. Africa. It is a tree and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/168997601/169318232

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Leguminosae, J.P.M. Brenan. Flora Zambesiaca 3:1. 1970

Morphology General Habit
Tree (4·5)6-16(22) m. high, often rather large, rounded or flat-topped with a spread up to 18 m., bark deeply furrowed, grey-black to blackish-brown; young branchlets glabrous to rather densely spreading-pubescent, eglandular.
Morphology Leaves Stipules
Stipules spinescent, up to 5(8·5) cm. long, often rather stout, often thickened below and fused together at the base into an enlarged “ant-gall” up to c. 1·5-2 x 2-2·5 cm., furrowed or not down the middle; other prickles absent.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves with a small sessile gland at the junction of each of the (1)2-5 pairs of pinnae; no petiolar gland; leaflets (6)8-15 pairs, 4·5-13 x 1·5-4·5 mm., glabrous to pubescent especially on the margins, entire, eglandular, rounded to subacute but not spinulose-mucronate at the apex; lateral nerves ± prominent and visible beneath.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers bright golden-yellow, in axillary often long-pedunculate heads 8-12 mm. in diam. scattered along shoots usually of the previous season, rarely of the current one; involucel strictly apical.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 2·5 mm. long, glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla 3-3·5 mm. long, glabrous or nearly so.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pods indehiscent, (4)6-11 x 2·5-4·7 cm., straight to falcate, very densely grey-velutinous all over.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds deep-chestnut-brown, 8-13 x 7-10 mm., irregular in size and shape, sometimes scarcely compressed; areole variable in size, 3-6·5 x 2-4 mm.
[FZ]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
Ecology
Africa: Zambezian woodland, Karroo-Namib bushland and thicket., Kalahari-Highveld regional transition zone; wooded grassland.
Morphology General Habit
Perennial, Not climbing, Shrub/Tree
[ILDIS]

Uses

Use
Wood
[ILDIS]

Common Names

English
Camel thorn, Giraffe thorn, Mimosa, Thorn tree

Sources

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • International Legume Database and Information Service

    • International Legume Database and Information Service (ILDIS) V10.39 Nov 2011
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Plants and People Africa

    • Common Names from Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com/
    • © Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/