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Vachellia etbaica (Schweinf.) Kyal. & Boatwr.

Acacia etbaica Schweinf.

Eng.: Savanna thorn.   Spa.: Acacia.   Ara.: Arrad, qarad.

Tree up to 12 m in height, spiny, hermaphrodite, deciduous, with straight trunk or multi-stemmed, crown rounded or umbrella-shaped. Trunk and main branches with bark smooth or rugose and fissured, brown or brown-black, which does not peel. Young branches greyish-brown or brown-purplish, glabrous or puberulous. Stipular spines paired, divergent, brownish or whitish; of 2 types, some small (0.3-0.7 cm), hooked, and others much larger (up to 6 cm), straight or curved. Leaves 3-6.5 cm, alternate, bipinnate, with petiole 0.3-1.5 cm, petiole and rachis eglandular, the latter with 1-9(17) pairs of pinnae, each with 4-35 pairs of leaflets 0.5-4 × 0.2-1.3 mm, oblong, rounded at the apex, subsessile, glabrous or puberulous, green. Inflorescences in spherical capitula, 5-9 mm in diameter, axillary, solitary or in fascicles of 3-5, pedunculate —peduncle 0.7-4 cm, puberulent—, with numerous minute flowers, white or cream. Calyx 0.4-1 mm, with puberulous teeth. Corolla 2-3 mm. Stamens numerous. Pod 2-12 cm × (7)15-22 mm, linear, pendulous, straight, not constricted between the seeds, compressed, brown or purple or reddish-brown, shiny, glabrous or puberulous towards the base, dehiscent with 6-8 seeds. Seeds 5.5 × 3.5-8 mm, ellipsoid to suborbicular, compressed, brown or an olive brown, smooth.