Vachellia erioloba

Vachellia erioloba, the camel thorn, is a pod-bearing, spiny shrub from 2 m in height to a large, umbrella-shaped tree of 16 m (SA Tree List No. 168). The bark of V. erioloba is grey to blackish brown and deeply furrowed when mature, red-brown when young.

The bipinnate (twice divided) leaves have up to five pairs of pinnae with veins protruding on the lower surface. The thorns are straight and sturdy. They are white or brown in colour and often have a characteristic swelling at the base.

The sweetly scented flowers are bright yellow, fluffy and spherical. The fluffiness is in the stamens, the most prominent flower part of Vachellia. Flowering occurs in winter and spring.

The seed pod is broad and woody, often with a distinct curve along its length. It is covered in velvety short hairs that are pale in colour. These pods are sought after fodder to livestock and game.

The species distribution ranges across the western, central and northern arid parts of South Africa, in the Northern Cape, the Free State and all provinces north of the Vaal River. Widespread in southern Africa, it also grows in Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The habitat varies considerably across the distribution range. It includes arid woodland, grassland and bushveld, often in stony places where the trees are found in deep sandy soils and along the seasonal watercourses. The water table is high in some parts of the trees range. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).