Senegalia welwitschii subsp. delagoensis

Senegalia welwitschii subsp. delagoensis, the Delagoa thorn, is a medium-sized, deciduous tree that grows curved and crooked stems to 15 m (SA Tree List No. 163).

The flowers appear in spikes, thickset and short, comprising many, tiny cream-coloured florets, seen in summer. The spikes become about 6,5 cm long. The photo taken in April shows the pendent, thin (flat) fruit pods, dull purplish red with curvy margins from constrictions between the seeds. The dehiscent pods are usually from 8 cm to 11 cm long and 1,3 cm to 2 cm wide.

Widespread in southeastern Africa north of the Limpopo, in South Africa this tree occurs in only small parts of the eastern Mpumalanga and Limpopo Lowveld. Growing in the southern parts of the Kruger National Park, this one was photographed directly to the south in the Mjejane Game Reserve. This is the only subspecies of S. welwitschii occurring in South Africa; subsp. welwitschii is found in Angola.

The tree’s habitat is dry bushveld and woodland on sandy flats and lowlands, often in brackish soil; mostly in the transition zone between basalt and granite. The trees are often found where Albizia petersiana subsp. evansii also grows. The subspecies is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; Codd, 1951; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).