Vachellia nilotica subsp. subalata
Vachellia nilotica subsp. subalata is a subspecies of Vachellia nilotica, a thorny shrub or tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. Kew recognises a native range extending through northeastern and eastern Africa and into Pakistan and parts of India. It also records an introduction to Madagascar.[1]
Identification
The young twigs are densely hairy. The FAO taxonomic manual describes the pods as oblong, with nearly straight or slightly scalloped edges and a persistent dense covering of hairs. Unlike the necklace-like pods of some other subspecies, they are not deeply pinched between successive seeds.[2]
The manual distinguishes subalata from the similar subspecies adstringens by longer hairs on the twigs and pods, together with the relatively straight, flattened pod margins.[2] The Somali flora records bright yellow flowers grouped into rounded heads and straight or nearly straight spines, sometimes pointing downwards.[3]
Habitat and range
In Africa, the FAO treatment records the subspecies in wooded grassland, thorn bushland and dry scrub. This differs from the strongly river-associated habitats described for some other subspecies of V. nilotica.[2]
The older manual questioned the identification of some Asian records and called for further study. Kew’s current checklist includes Pakistan and India within the native range.[2][1]
Names
The plant was described as Acacia subalata in 1880. It was treated as Acacia nilotica subsp. subalata in 1957 and transferred to Vachellia in 2013. These names refer to the same taxon at different stages of classification, rather than three distinct plants.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. “Vachellia nilotica subsp. subalata”. Plants of the World Online. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Food and Agriculture Organization. Manuel sur la taxonomie des espèces d’acacias, Acacia nilotica subsp. subalata treatment. Accessed 9 October 2026.
- ↑ Flora of Somalia, updated 2008. Vachellia nilotica subsp. subalata treatment reproduced in Plants of the World Online; indexed text. Accessed 9 October 2026.