Vachellia nilotica pods

The fruit pods of Vachellia nilotica subsp. kraussiana are fleshy and green when young, drying to dark, almost black and sticky. The pod is constricted between seeds, beaded in rounded bulges. The pod may be slightly curved, sometimes hairy.

The sweet fragrance exuded by the pod is reflected in the common names of scented-pod thorn and lekkerruikpeul. The pods don’t dehisce but disintegrate in short, single-seed sections after dropping off. Pod length is from 80 mm to 170 mm, its width from 9 mm to 16 mm. The fruit pods are seen on the trees from autumn to early spring.

They are sought after by browsing stock and game. The pods have been used in dyeing wool and to manufacture ink.

The flowers that came before are fragrant, yellow balls of about 12 mm in diameter. Up to eight of these balls may grow from one node on new growth. Flowering happens from spring to autumn, peaking early in summer (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; Pooley, 1993; iNaturalist).