Acacia luederitzii

Acacia luederitzii

Quantity:

Common Names

Kalahari-sand acacia (english)
Swartbas (afrikaans)
Umshangwe (zulu)

Taxonomy

Family FABACEAE
Genus Acacia
Species luederitzii
SA Plant Number 174
Basionym Acacia luederitzii

Description

Acacia luederitzii var. luederitzii is a very hardy, deciduous, quite slow-growing Acacia that can tolerate harsh conditions as it grows in desert and semi-desert areas. It develops a flat crown, typical of African Acacias, with age. It has fine, feathery, grey-green foliage.

A combination of straight and hooked thorns make this Acacia a formidable security barrier when allowed to branch low and individual plants are planted close together.

The creamy-white puffball flowers are borne from October to February and attract a whole host of insects. The nutritional, elongated, purple-brown pods will split and persist on the tree - another interesting feature.

A perfect Acacia for smaller gardens. Once established it requires very little attention.

Plant in well-drained soil in sun.

Note: in Acacia luederitzii var. retinens, which occurs in Kwazulu Natal, Swaziland and Mozambique, the inflated, paired spines look like miniature buffalo horns and are an interesting feature of this tree. These do not occur in var. luederitzii.

Wildlife

Pollinators:

Flowers attract many pollinating insects and subsequently birds (that feed on the insects).

Uses

Landscaping:

Beautiful Thorn tree for small gardens.

Distribution

Northern Cape


Habitat:
Semi-desert and open woodland on Kalahari sand

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