Vachellia gummifera (Willd.) Kyal. & Boatwr.
Acacia gummifera Willd.
Eng.: Moroccan acacia, moroccan gum. Spa.: Acacia marroquí. Fre.: Acacia du Maroc, gommier du Maroc. Ara.: Talha, hauruar la gomme, amrad. Tam.: Atil, tadlul, tamat, tagegart, tagengert, taddut, tsedzudz, amrad la gomme, taddut, talh, tifizza.
Shrub or tree up to 3(4) m in height, spiny, hermaphrodite, deciduous, very ramose. Trunk and main branches with brown-greyish to brown bark. Young branches glabrous, those less than one year often somewhat hairy, reddish, sometimes bright red. Stipular spines 1-2.5 cm, paired, divergent, straight or slightly curved, the same colour as the branch from where they grow. Leaves 2-3.9 cm, alternate, pinnate, glabrous, with petiole 0.6-1.4 cm, and rachis with 1-3 pairs of pinnae —with 1 gland at the insertions of the pinnae—, each with 6-12 pairs of leaflets (3)3.5-8 × 0.75-1.5 mm, narrowly oblong, with rounded apex and base, subsessile, entire, glabrous or ciliate margin, dull light green in colour, glaucescent on both sides. Inflorescences in spherical capitula, 8-10 mm in diameter, axillary, solitary or in pairs, pedunculate —peduncle (0.6)1-1.5(2) cm, reddish, somewhat hairy—, with numerous minute flowers, yellow or bright yellow. Calyx c. 1 mm, with ciliate teeth. Corolla 2-2.5 mm, with oblong lobes, glabrous or somewhat hairy at the tip. Stamens very numerous. Pod 8-20 cm × 8-15 mm, pendulous, linear, slightly falcate, compressed, slightly constricted between the seeds, greyish-tomentose, almost indehiscent, with 6-15 seeds. Seeds 10-13 × 7-8 mm, ovoid to ellipsoid, compressed, brown-blackish, smooth.
Flowering:
January to August.
Fruiting:
June to December.
Habitat:
Forests and thickets on very different soil types, in plains and low mountains. In arid to semiarid bioclimates, with inframediterranean and thermomediterranean floors.
Distribution:
Endemic to NW Africa. Its distribution is linked mainly to regions with vegetation of macaronesian influence (western High Atlas, Sus valley and western Anti-Atlas), but towards the N there are some isolated stands close to Rabat, and towards the S up to El Aaium, Smara, etc. In the plains of Hauz (Marrakesh) before its massive clearing, it became a dominant species with Ziziphus lotus, forming extensive forests and spiny thickets.
Conservation status:
Despite its restricted distribution, it is a relatively common species, not considered threatened. In the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, it is listed as Data Deficient (DD) at global level. In Morocco it is included in its List of native species that need authorization for commercial use (Law 29-2005 and Decree 2-12-484 of 21-May-2015).