Acacia kirkii

Acacia kirkii Oliv.

Common names

Flood plain acacia (English); kafifi (Bemba, Bisa); mtubetube (Nyanja)

The Latin specific name refers to Sir John Kirk who made the first scientific collection of this species in Southern Province.

General description and distinguishing characteristics

Small tree (2.5-15 m high), more or less flat topped. Bark distinctive yellowish green which peels off in flakes. Thorns straight, white, up to 8 cm long in pairs. Leaves compound, 3-8 cm long with 6-14 pairs of pinnae. Leaflets numerous, small, 2.5 x 0.5-1 mm. Flowers pinkish white, spherical with red corolla and white stamen filaments. Fruit indehiscent pods, brown, up to 9 x 2 cm, jointed and each segment with a distinctive, wart-like projection.

Range and habitat

Acacia kirkii subsp. kirkii is found in southern Africa in Botswana, the Caprivi Strip and Zimbabwe. Acacia kirkii subsp. mildbraedii, which has no wart-like projections on its fruit, is found further north in Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and NW Tanzania. In the Luangwa valley, Acacia kirkii is found in flood channels on heavy, cracking clay. Occasional in seasonally flooded areas.

Ecology and uses

Elephants cause a great deal of damage to these trees when breaking them down to eat the branches, pods and leaves. The leaves are also eaten by giraffe. Larvae of the butterfly Charaxes ethalion binghami feed on the foliage (Timberlake et al., 1999).