''Vachellia reficiens'' ( af, Rooihak, german: link=no, Rotrindenakazie), commonly known as red-bark acacia, red thorn, false umbrella tree, or false umbrella thorn, is a deciduous tree or shrub of the pea family (

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

Heinrich Wawra von Fernsee Heinrich Wawra Ritter von Fernsee, born Jindřich Blažej Vávra, (February 2, 1831 in Brno, Moravia – May 1887 in Baden bei Wien) was a Czech-Austrian ship surgeon, botanist and explorer. The youngest of five sons of a miller, he studie ...

described ''Vachellia reficiens'' (as ''Acacia reficiens'') in 1859. It forms a species complex with '' V. luederitzii'', also from central and southern Africa. Two subspecies exist: ''V. reficiens'' subspecies ''reficiens'', which found in Angola and southwestern Africa, and has affinities to ''V. luederitzii'', and ''V. reficiens'' subsp. ''misera'' which is found in eastern Africa, from Sudan and Somalia through Kenya and into Uganda, and has affinities to '' V. etbaica''. With the re-typification of the genus ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus nam ...

'' this species was placed in '' Vachellia''.

Description

''Vachellia reficiens'' can grow up to in height. Its bark is reddish-brown or greyish-black, and is quite rough and fissured. The younger growing branches can have a purple-red appearance, hence its common names. An interesting characteristic about this plant is that it has both, long, straight thorns and shorter curved/hook-like thorns, but generally not both in one pair. Leaves are bipinnately compound (as is common in most African acacia species) with 1 to 4 pinnae pairs, where each pinna again has 5 to 13 leaflet pairs. The flowers are white- to cream-coloured, and mostly seen during the summer months of December and January, but they can blossom almost all year round, depending on the geographical location. The fruit is a flat red-brown pod.

Distribution and habitat

''Vachellia reficiens'' is found in the drier areas of Africa, in countries like

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

, South Africa,

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

and

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

. This plant seems to prefer rocky soil-types and it does not grow in high-rainfall areas, but rather in semi-desert and arid shrubland. It is an abundant dominant species of arid shrubland throughout Kenya, and it forms up to 30% of total woody canopy in the South Turkana Ecosystem in the Turkana District. In some savannas and woodlands ''Vachellia reficiens'' is a species of woody encroachment, crowding out herbaceous plants.

Ecology

This tree's leaves are browsed upon by game and small livestock like the

Greater Kudu The greater kudu (''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'') is a woodland antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa. Despite occupying such widespread territory, they are sparsely populated in most areas due to declining habitat, deforestation, ...

and goats. In some areas of Namibia and Kenya, ''Vachellia reficiens'' subsp. ''reficiens'' is considered an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

as it can encroach on areas of farmland, especially on disturbed soil. It is very opportunistic and hardy and can subsequently take over large areas of native vegetation.

Uses

The nomadic Ngisonyoka people in the Turkana District of Kenya use ''Vachellia reficiens'' wood to build temporary houses. In Namibia's Kaokoveld region, the branches of this tree are used for fencing and the bark is used to curdle milk, while the thorns can be used to pierce ears. The seeds can be baked in hot ash, crushed, ground and mixed with tobacco to use as snuff. The Giriama people use the wood for firewood and charcoal, and straight stems for poles.

References

External links