Accession Count: 1
Common Name:
floodplain acacia, vloedvlaktedoring
Family Name:
Fabaceae
Botanical Name:
Vachellia kirkii
Sub Species:
Variety:
Forma:
Cultivar:
Characteristics:
Flood-plain acacia is a medium size multi-trunk tree that branches from the base and grows to a height of 25 feet (1,2,3,4,5). The bark of flood-plain acacia has a distinctive translucent papery layer that peels back to reveal a green inner layer (1,2,3,4). The somewhat upright branches of the tree extend vertically from the trunk and then occasionally droop at the branch tips (1,2,3,4). New branch growth is slightly pubescent and plum colored (1,2,3,4). The thorns appear in pairs at the nodes, are white in color, and about 5 cm long (1,2,3,4,5). The leaves have a feathery appearance with a short petiole and are medium sized at 2-5cm long (1,2,3,4,5). The leaves typically appear in 6 to 10 pinnae pairs, each bearing tiny yellow-green leaflets from 1-5mm long (1,2,4). The capitate inflorescences of this species are made up of spherical, cream-colored flowers (1,2,3,4). The fruit of the flood-plain acacia are indehiscent pods that are constricted between the seeds with lateral veins visible on the surface (1,2,3). The hanging pods are distinctive as they have a raised warty protuberance on the pod surface over each seed (1,2,3,4).
Compound:
vac kir
Geographic Origin:
Africa
Ecozone Origin:
Biome Origin:
Natural History:
Flood-plain acacia is widely distributed across eastern and southern Africa from Botswana to Namibia and Zimbabwe (1,2,3,4,5,6,7). Flood-plain acacia is named after Sir John Kirk who personally collected the specimen in southern Zambia (1,2,6).
Cultivation Notes:
Flood-plain acacia can be found along river sides as well as woodland and tree savannas that are seasonally flooded (1,2,3,5,6). Flood-plain acacia is associated with soils rich in clay derived from alluvium deposits (1,2,5,6).
Ethnobotany:
Flood-plain acacia yields an edible gum that can be used medicinally (1,2). All Acacia species contain quantities of tannins that are astringent and can be used for medicinal purposes (6). Elephants are reported to heavily feed on this species (1,7).
Height:
20 - 50 feet
Width:
16 - 20 feet
Growth Rate:
Slow Growing
Grow Season:
Spring
Flower Season:
Spring
Color:
White
Function:
Shade
Spread:
Allergen:
Invasive:
Toxicity:
Hardy:
Semi-hardy
Water Use:
Low water Use
Citations:
- Barnes, Fagg, and Timberlake. (1999). Field Guide to the Acacias of Zimbabwe. CBC Publishing
- Timberlake, Jonathan. (1980). Handbook of Botswana Acacia. Ministry of Agriculture.
- Beentje, and Coe. (1991). A Field Guide to the Acacias of Kenya. Oxford University Press
- https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77131729-1
- https://guatemala.inaturalist.org/taxa/595952-Vachellia-kirkii
- https://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Vachellia+kirkii
- https://arboretum.arizona.edu/research/desert-legume-tree-rescue
