Vachellia gerrardii subsp. gerrardii

Vachellia gerrardii subsp. gerrardii, the red thorn and botanically earlier Acacia gerrardii var. gerrardii, is a shrub of 3 m or a medium sized tree occasionally reaching 10 m (SA Tree List No. 167). It has a narrow and sparsely leaved crown, open and somewhat flattened, its branches ascending.

Damage to the branches has occurred on the tree in picture. This is commonly caused by feeding elephants in places where they are still allowed to roam. Other browser species also favour these leaves. This tree grows in the Djuma Game Reserve that forms part of the Sabi Sand Reserve adjoining the Kruger National Park.

The distribution of V. gerrardii subsp. gerrardii in South Africa lies in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and a small part of North West.

The habitat of the red thorn is wooded grassland, often near the bushveld rivers. The subspecies is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

This subspecies is the only one of the species occurring in South Africa. More forms of the tree grow beyond the border in tropical southern Africa, especially in Zimbabwe where it is common (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Carr, 1976; http://redlist.sanbi.org).