Acacia caffra [family FABACEAE]

Herbarium
South African National Biodiversity Institute, Compton Herbarium, Cape Town (SAM)
Collection
Flora of Southern Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of South Africa, (2003) Author: Dr J.P. Roux
Names
Acacia caffra [family FABACEAE]
Common names
Mimosa caffra Thunb., Prodr. 2 : 92 (1800); Fl. Cap., ed. Schult. 433 (1823). Type as above. A.fallax E. Mey., Comm. 1 : 169 (1836); Meisn. in Hook., Lond. J. Bot. 2 : 105 (1843). Syntypes: Cape, Uitenhage Distr., Witrivier near Enon, Drege (BM!, K!, P!); Peddie Distr., Keiskamma, Drege (P!). A. caffra Willd. var. namaquensis Eckl. & Zeyh., Enum 260 (1836). Type: Cape, Clanwilliam Distr., Namaqualand, Olifants River, Clanwilliam, Ecklon & Zeyher 1694 (BOL!, K.!). A. catechu sensu E. Mey., Comm. 1 : 170 (1836), non (L.f.) Willd. A. multijuga Meisn. in Hook., Lond. J. Bot. 2 : 105 (1843). Type: Natal, between Durban [Port Natal] and Tugela River, Krauss 112 (BM, iso.!). A. caffra var. longa Glover in Ann. Bolus Herb. 1 : 146 (1915). Syntypes: Cape, Umtata Distr., Umtata, Convent of the Holy Cross 233 (GRA!); King William's Town Distr., King William's Town, Sim 2137 (PRE!). A. caffra var. tomentosa Glover in Ann. Bolus Herb. 1 : 146 (1915); Bews, Fl. Natal 114 (1921); Burtt Davy, Fl. Transv.
Information
Shrub or tree to 14 m high; trunk to 0,6 m diam.; crown often rounded. Bark reddish- or dark-brown to blackish, rough, frequently transversely and longitudinally fissured; young branchlets glabrous to sparingly or densely tomentose, eglandular or with minute reddish glands. Stipules not spinescent, in pairs, linear, 2,5-4 x 0,2-0,8 mm, soon deciduous. Prickles in pairs just below each node (rarely absent or with a few additional prickles scattered elsewhere on the stems), recurved or sometimes ± straight, dark-brown to blackish, up to 9 mm long. Leaves: petiole (0,5)0,8-3(4) cm long, adaxial gland variable in position, often slightly below the lowest pinna pair, 0,7-1,5 x 0,3-0,7 mm; rhachis (2)5-15(22,7) cm long, glabrous to densely tomentose, abaxial surface often with recurved prickles up to 3 mm long, with a gland at the junction of the top 1-3 pinnae pairs, occasionally between each pinna pair, or absent from some; pinnae (6)8-26(38) pairs; rhachillae (1,1)2,4-5(6,7) cm long, glabrous to tomentose; leaflets (13)21-50(64) pairs per pi
Habitat
A. caffra is widespread throughout much of our area from the western Cape to the northern Transvaal. It is a very variable species, particularly in the degree of development of the indumentum and in the number of pinnae pairs. Of the four varieties recognized within A. caffra, only one, namely var. tomentosa Glover, remained in common use for some time. Var. tomentosa was distinguished from the other varieties on the number of pinnae pairs, the arrange­ment of the inflorescences and the degree of pube­scence of the young branchlets, peduncles and calyces. In its typical form var. tomentosa is fairly distinctive but the characters typifying it vary independently. The extremes of the species look very different, yet
Use
12. Acacia caffra (Thunb.) Willd., Sp. PI 4 : 1078 (1806); DC, Prodr. 2 : 459 (1825); E. Mey., Coram. 1 : 169 (1836); Eckl. & Zeyh., Enum. 260 (1836); Benth. in Hook., Lond. J. Bot. 1 : 509 (1842); Meisn. in Hook., Lond. J. Bot. 2 : 105 (1843); Benth. in Hook., Lond. J. Bot. 5 : 98 (1846); Harv. in F.C. 2 : 282 (1862); Benth. in Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond. 30 : 520 (1875); Marloth in Trans. S. Afr. Phil. Soc. 5 : 269 (1889); Sim, For. Fl. Cape Col. 210, t.60 (1907) pro parte excl. specim. Lake Ngami, Mossamedes, Angola; Burtt Davy in Kew Bull. 1908: 156 (1908) pro parte excl. specim. Lugard 93, McCabe 29; Glover in Ann. Bolus Herb. 1 : 146, t.18/6 (1915); Harms in Engl., Pflanzenw. Afr. 3,1 : 387 (1915); Sim, Native Timbers S. Afr. 32, t.34 (1921); Burtt Davy, Fl. Transv. 2 : 337, fig. 55 (1932); Henkel, Woody PI. Natal 232 (1934); Hutch., Botanist in S. Afr. 363, 366, 398 (1946); Codd, Trees & Shrubs Kruger Nat. Park 42 (1951); O. B. Miller in J. S. Afr. Bot. 18 : 19 (1952) pro parte
Range
Found in south-eastern Botswana, the Transvaal, southern Mozambique, Swaziland, Natal and the Cape Province. Occupies a diverse range of habitats from coastal scrub, dry thornveld and river valley scrub, to mixed bushveld and tall grassland. Frequently occurs amongst boulders or near termite mounds which afford some protection from fire. A dwarf stunted from often occurs on rocky stream banks in the eastern Cape.
Acacia caffra [family FABACEAE]
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