Taxon: Vachellia karroo (Hayne) Banfi & Galasso

Summary

Genus:

Vachellia

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Caesalpinioideae

Tribe:

Acacieae

Nomen number:

465190

Place of publication:

Atti Soc. Ital. Sci. Nat. Mus. Civico Storia Nat. Milano 149:149. 2008

Verified:

05/11/2012 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

11 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Acacia karroo Hayne

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Acacia capensis Burch.
Acacia dekindtiana A. Chev.

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Kyalangalilwa, B. & J. S. Boatwright. 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. 172:513.
van Wyck, B. E. 2012. Review of Fabaceae Southern Africa data for World Economic Plants, ed. 2. pers. comm. Note: recognizes Acacia karroo Hayne

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	karroothorn		1	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada Note: as Acacia karroo
English	karrothorn	as Acacia karroo Hayne	1	van Wyck, B. E. 2012. Review of Fabaceae Southern Africa data for World Economic Plants, ed. 2. pers. comm. Note: recognizes Acacia karroo Hayne
English	sweet-thorn		1	Timberlake, J. et al. 1999. Field guide to the acacias of Zimbabwe. Note: as Acacia karroo
Afrikaans	soetdoring		2	Timberlake, J. et al. 1999. Field guide to the acacias of Zimbabwe. Note: as Acacia karroo

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola		s.	Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe			Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Botswana			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Eswatini			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Namibia			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Eastern Cape		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Free State		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Gauteng		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	KwaZulu-Natal		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Limpopo		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Mpumalanga		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Northern Cape		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	North-West		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Western Cape		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
2	Cultivated	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe			Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
2	Cultivated	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa			Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6

Native
Africa

SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola (s.), Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa [Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North-West, Western Cape]

Cultivated
Africa

SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Zimbabwe
SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa

Reference(s)

Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Reference
Animal food	forage	Lock, J. M. & K. Simpson. 1991. Legumes of West Asia: a checklist Note: as Acacia karroo
Environmental	erosion control	Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6 Note: as Acacia karroo
Fuels	fuelwood	Barnes, R. D. et al. 1996. Acacia karroo: monograph and annotated bibliography. Trop. Forest. Pap. Commonw. Forest. Inst. 32:1-77. Note: as Acacia karroo
Materials	fiber	Lock, J. M. & K. Simpson. 1991. Legumes of West Asia: a checklist Note: as Acacia karroo
Materials	gum/resin	Lock, J. M. 1989. Legumes of Africa: a checklist Note: as Acacia karroo
Materials	tannin/dyestuff	Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6 Note: as Acacia karroo
Medicines	folklore	Timberlake, J. et al. 1999. Field guide to the acacias of Zimbabwe. Note: as Acacia karroo

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=465190. Accessed 12 May 2026.