Vachellia drepanolobium

Whistling thorn
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Vachellia
Species:
V. drepanolobium
Binomial name
Vachellia drepanolobium
(Harms ex Sjöstedt) P.J.H.Hurter[2]
Synonyms
  • Acacia drepanolobium Harms ex Sjöstedt

Vachellia drepanolobium, more commonly known as Acacia drepanolobium or whistling thorn,[1] is a swollen-thorn acacia native to East Africa. The whistling thorn grows up to 6 meters tall. It produces a pair of straight spines at each node, some of which have large bulbous bases. These swollen spines are naturally hollow and occupied by any one of several symbiotic ant species. The common name of the plant is derived from the observation that when wind blows over bulbous spines in which ants have made entry and exit holes, they produce a whistling noise.[3]

Whistling thorn is the dominant tree in some areas of upland East Africa, sometimes forming a nearly monoculture woodland, especially on "black cotton" soils of impeded drainage with high clay content.[4][5] It is browsed upon by giraffes and other large herbivores. It is apparently fire-adapted, coppicing readily after "top kill" by fire.[6]

Whistling thorn is used as fencing, tool handles, and other implements. The wood of the whistling thorn, although usually small in diameter, is hard and resistant to termites.[7] The branches can also be used for kindling, and its gum is sometimes collected and used as glue. The ability to coppice after cutting make it a possibly sustainable source for fuel wood and charcoal.[8] Conversely, whistling thorn also has been considered a weed of rangelands, and a woody plant encroachment species.[9][10]

  1. ^ a b Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).; IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group (2018). "Vachellia drepanolobium". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T49277271A135815962. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T49277271A135815962.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Kyalangalilwa B, Boatwright JS, Daru BH, Maurin O, van der Bank M (2013). "Phylogenetic position and revised classification of Acacia s.l. (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in Africa, including new combinations in Vachellia and Senegalia". Bot J Linn Soc. 172 (4): 500–523. doi:10.1111/boj.12047. hdl:10566/3454.
  3. ^ "Whistling Thorn". Archived from the original on 26 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  4. ^ Young, T.P.; C.H. Stubblefield; L.A. Isbell (December 1996). "Ants on swollen-thorn acacias: Species coexistence in a simple system". Oecologia. 109 (1): 98–107. Bibcode:1997Oecol.109...98Y. doi:10.1007/s004420050063. PMID 28307618.
  5. ^ Palmer, T.M.; M.L. Stanton; T.P. Young; J.R. Goheen; R.M. Pringle; R. Karban (January 2008). "Breakdown of an Ant–Plant Mutualism Follows the Loss of Large Herbivores from an African Savanna". Science. 319 (5860): 192–195. Bibcode:2008Sci...319..192P. doi:10.1126/science.1151579. PMID 18187652.
  6. ^ Okello, Bell; T.P. Young; C. Riginos; D. Kelly; T. O'Connor (2008). "Short-term survival and long-term mortality of Acacia drepanolobium after a controlled burn". African Journal of Ecology. 46 (3): 395–401. Bibcode:2008AfJEc..46..395O. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2007.00872.x.
  7. ^ "The Whistling Thorn". Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  8. ^ Okello, B.D.; O’Connor, T.G. & Young, T.P. (2001). "Growth, biomass estimates, and charcoal production of Acacia drepanolobium in Laikipia, Kenya". For. Ecol. Manag. 142 (1–3): 143–153. Bibcode:2001ForEM.142..143O. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.494.4621. doi:10.1016/S0378-1127(00)00346-7.
  9. ^ Pratt, D.J. & Gwynne, M.D. (1977). Rangeland Management and Ecology in East Africa. Hodder & Stoughton, London. ISBN 978-0-88275-525-0.
  10. ^ Dall, G.; Maass, B.L. & Isselstein, J. (2006). "Encroachment of woody plants and its impact on pastoral livestock production in the Borana lowlands, southern Oromia, Ethiopia". African Journal of Ecology. 44 (2): 237–246. Bibcode:2006AfJEc..44..237D. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2006.00638.x.