Acacia gerrardii

Acacia gerrardii Benth.

Common names

Grey-haired acacia (English); lusenene (Bemba, Bisa); kafifi (Nyanja)

The Latin specific name refers to the English naturalist W.T. Gerrard who collected the first scientific specimen of this species in South Africa in the 1860s (Timberlake et al., 1999). The English name refers to the grey hairy branches of this species.

General description and distinguishing characteristics

Shrub or small tree, 3-15 m high. Bark fissured grey, blackish-brown or black, typically with dense, grey hairs on the branchlets, cracking to reveal red underbark. Thorns, straight (occasionally curved or hooked), short, 1cm long, rarely to 6.5 cm long. Leaves compound, with 5-10 pairs of pinnae, each bearing 12-23 pairs of leaflets; leaf stalks densely hairy. Leaflets 3-7.5 x 1-2 mm. Flowers creamy white, scented, in spherical heads 1 cm in diameter (September-February). Fruit a curved, rounded pod up to 8-15 x 1.5 cm, covered in grey, velvety hairs (December-July).

Acacia gerrardii can be confused with Acacia robusta but the densely hairy branches are usually diagnostic of the former.

Range and habitat

Widespread from KwaZulu Natal northwards through Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique to tropical West Africa, Sudan and Kenya. In the Luangwa valley it is found in the colluvial soils of the upper valley floor in Combretum-Terminalia-Diospyros wooded grassland.