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vachellia

{{Short description|Genus of legumes}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Acacia smallii 4.jpg

| image_caption = Vachellia farnesiana

| taxon = Vachellia

| authority = Wight & Arn.

| type_species = Vachellia farnesiana

| type_species_authority = (L.) Wight & Arn.

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = 147; see text.

| range_map = Vachellia Distribution Map.svg

| range_map_caption = The original range of the genus Vachellia. Today it is also found in most Mediterranean countries.

| range_map_alt = World map showing Vachellia species occurring through out the tropics

| synonyms_ref = {{cite web |last1=Maslin |first1=B. R. |last2=Orchard |first2=A. E. |last3=West |first3=J. G. |title=Nomenclatural and classification history of Acacia (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae), and the implications of generic subdivision |url=http://worldwidewattle.com/infogallery/taxonomy/nomen-class.pdf |website=worldwidewattle.com |access-date=5 November 2015}}

| synonyms =

  • Acacia subg. Acacia Vassal, nom. illeg.
  • Acaciopsis Britton & Rose
  • Aldina E.Mey.
  • Bahamia Britton & Rose
  • Delaportea Gagnepain
  • Farnesia Gasparrini
  • Feracacia Britton & Rose
  • Fishlockia Britton & Rose
  • Gumifera Raf.
  • Lucaya Britton & Rose
  • Myrmecodendron Britton & Rose
  • Nimiria Craib
  • Pithecodendron Speg.
  • Poponax Raf.
  • Protoacacia Mill.
  • Tauroceras Britton & Rose

}}

Vachellia is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, commonly known as thorn trees or acacias. It belongs to the subfamily Mimosoideae. Its species were considered members of genus Acacia until 2009. Vachellia can be distinguished from other acacias by its capitate inflorescences and spinescent stipules.{{cite journal | author = Dyer C. | year = 2014 | title = New names for the African Acacia species in Vachellia and Senegalia | journal = Southern Forests: A Journal of Forest Science | volume = 76 | issue = 4 | pages = iii | doi = 10.2989/20702620.2014.980090| doi-access = free | bibcode = 2014SFJFS..76D...3D }} Before discovery of the New World, Europeans in the Mediterranean region were familiar with several species of Vachellia, which they knew as sources of medicine, and had names for them that they inherited from the Greeks and Romans{{clarify|date=November 2023}}.{{cite book|last1=Austin|first1=Daniel F.|title=Florida ethnobotany Fairchild Tropical Garden, Coral Gables, Florida, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona: with more than 500 species illustrated by Penelope N. Honychurch ... [et al.] |date=2004 |publisher=CRC Press |location=Boca Raton, FL |isbn=9780203491881 |pages=58–59}}

The wide-ranging genus occurs in a variety of open, tropical to subtropical habitats, and is locally dominant.{{cite book|last1=Shorrocks |first1=Bryan |last2=Bates |first2=William |title=The Biology of African Savannahs |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0198702702 |pages=231–233 |edition=Biology of Habitats Series|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2NqSBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA45}} In parts of Africa, Vachellia species are shaped progressively by grazing animals of increasing size and height, such as gazelle, gerenuk, and giraffe. The genus in Africa has thus developed thorns in defence against such herbivory {{clarify|date=November 2023}}.{{cite book|last1=Chidumayo|first1=Emmanuel N.|last2=Gumbo|first2=Davison J.|title=The Dry Forests and Woodlands of Africa: Managing for Products and Services|date=2010|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136531378|page=25}}

Nomenclature

By 2005, taxonomists had decided that Acacia sensu lato should be split into at least five separate genera. The ICN dictated that under these circumstances, the name of Acacia should remain with the original type, which was Acacia nilotica. However, that year the General Committee of the IBC decided that Acacia should be given a new type (Acacia verticillatum) so that the ~920 species of Australian acacias would not need to be renamed Racosperma. This decision was opposed by 54.9% or 247 representatives at its 2005 congress, while 45.1% or 203 votes were cast in favor. However, since a 60% vote was required to override the committee, the decision was carried, and a nom. cons. propositum was listed in Appendix III (p. 286).{{cite book |last1=Corder |first1=Hugh |last2=Glazewski |first2=Jan |last3=Bleazard |first3=Janice |title=A Rose is a Rose but is an 'Acacia' an 'Acacia'? Global administrative law: development and innovation |date=2009 |publisher=Juta |location=Cape Town |isbn=9780702181900}}{{cite journal |last1=Moore |first1=Gerry |last2=Smith |first2=Gideon F. |last3=Figueiredo |first3=Estrela |last4=Demissew |first4=Sebsebe |last5=Lewis |first5=Gwilym |last6=Schrire |first6=Brian |last7=Rico |first7=Lourdes |last8=van Wyk |first8=Abraham E. |last9=Luckow |first9=Melissa |last10=Kiesling |first10=Roberto |last11=Sousa |first11=Mario |title=The Acacia controversy resulting from minority rule at the Vienna Nomenclature Section: Much more than arcane arguments and complex technicalities |journal=Taxon |date=June 2011 |volume=60 |issue=3 |pages=852–857 |url=http://www.iapt-taxon.org/historic/Congress/IBC_2011/Acacia_not_pragm.pdf |access-date=19 May 2016|doi=10.1002/tax.603017 |bibcode=2011Taxon..60..852M |hdl=2263/17167 |hdl-access=free }} The 2011 congress voted 373 to 172 to uphold the 2005 decision, which means that the name Acacia and a new type follow the majority of the species in Acacia sensu lato, rather than this genus.{{cite web |title= The Acacia debate |url=http://worldwidewattle.com/infogallery/nomenclature/nameissue/melbourne-ibc-2011-congress-news-tuesday-26-july.pdf |publisher=IBC2011 Congress News |access-date=May 5, 2016}} However, some members of the botanical community remain unconvinced,{{cite web |title=Conserving Acacia Mill. with a conserved type: What happened in Melbourne? |url=http://www.iapt-taxon.org/historic/Congress/IBC_2011/Acacia_happen2.pdf |publisher=Taxon |access-date=May 5, 2016}} and the use of Acacia in the scientific literature continues to exceed the use of the new generic names.

Description

The members of Vachellia are trees or shrubs, sometimes climbing, and are always armed. Younger plants, especially, are armed with spines which are modified stipules, situated near the leaf bases. Some (cf. V. tortilis, {{ill|Vachellia hebeclada|qid=Q9565225}}, V. luederitzii and V. reficiens) are also armed with paired, recurved prickles (in addition to the spines).{{cite web|last1=Hyde |first1=Mark|title=3446.000 Acacia Mill.—Thorn trees |url=http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=667 |website=Flora of Zimbabwe |access-date=6 November 2015|display-authors=etal}} The leaves are alternate and bipinnately arranged, and their pinnae are usually opposite. The racemose inflorescences usually grow from the leaf axils. The yellow or creamy white flowers are produced in spherical heads, or seldom in elongate spikes, which is the general rule in the related genus Senegalia. The flowers are typically bisexual with numerous stamens, but unisexual flowers have been noted in V. nilotica (cf. Sinha, 1971).{{cite web |title=Handbook on seeds of dry-zone acacias, 3. Reproductive biology |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/q2190e/Q2190E03.htm |website=fao.org |publisher=FAO Corporate Document Repository: Agriculture and Consumer Protection |access-date=6 November 2015}} The calyx and corolla are usually 4 to 5-lobed. Glands are usually present on the rachis and the upper side of the petiole. The seed pod may be straight, curved or curled, and either dehiscent or indehiscent.

File:Vachellia vernicosa.jpg|V. vernicosa, or "viscid acacia", in habitat, Far West Texas

File:Vachellia vernicosa inflorescence.jpg|V. vernicosa, detail of inflorescence

Species list

Of the 163 species currently assigned to Vachellia, 52 are native to the Americas, 83 to Africa, Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands, 32 to Asia and 9 to Australia and the Pacific Islands.{{cite journal | author = Thiele KR. | title = The controversy over the retypification of Acacia Mill. with an Australian type: A pragmatic view | journal = Taxon | year = 2011 | volume = 60 | issue = 1 | pages = 194–198 | url = http://www.iapt-taxon.org/historic/Congress/IBC_2011/Acacia_pragm.pdf | jstor = 41059833| doi = 10.1002/tax.601017 | bibcode = 2011Taxon..60..194T }} Vachellia comprises the following species:{{cite journal |vauthors=Seigler DS, Ebinger JE | title = New combinations in the genus Vachellia (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) from the New World | journal = Phytologia | volume = 87 | issue = 3 | pages = 139–78 | year = 2005 | url = http://biostor.org/reference/63157}}{{cite journal |vauthors=Kyalangalilwa B, Boatwright JS, Daru BH, Maurin O, van der Bank M | title = Phylogenetic position and revised classification of Acacia s.l. (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in Africa, including new combinations in Vachellia and Senegalia. | journal = Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society | volume = 172 | issue = 4 | pages = 500–523 | year = 2013 | doi = 10.1111/boj.12047 | doi-access = free }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Seigler DS, Ebinger JE | title = New combinations in Senegalia and Vachellia (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) | journal = Phytologia | volume = 92 | issue = 1 | pages = 92–95 | year = 2010 | url = http://www.phytologia.org/uploads/2/3/4/2/23422706/92192-95seaglernewcombinations.pdf }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Maslin BR, Seigler DS, Ebinger J | title = New combinations in Senegalia and Vachellia (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae) for Southeast Asia and China. | journal = Blumea | volume = 58 | issue = 1 | pages = 39–44 | year = 2013 | doi = 10.3767/000651913X669914| bibcode = 2013Blume..58...39M | url = http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/record/524646 }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Clarke HD, Seigler DS, Ebinger JE | title = Taxonomic Revision of the Vachellia acuifera Species Group (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in the Caribbean | journal = Systematic Botany | volume = 34 | issue = 1 | pages = 84–101 | year = 2009 | doi = 10.1600/036364409787602285| bibcode = 2009SysBo..34...84D | s2cid = 86066178 }}{{cite web | url = http://www.worldwidewattle.com/speciesgallery/home.php | title = List of Acacia sensu lato species | author = Maslin B | website = World Wide Wattle | access-date = 4 January 2014}}{{cite journal |vauthors=Kodela PG, Wilson PG | title = New combinations in the genus Vachellia (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) from Australia | journal = Telopea | volume = 11 | issue = 2| pages = 233–244 | year = 2006 | doi = 10.7751/telopea20065723| doi-access = free | bibcode = 2006Telop..11..233W }}{{cite journal | author = Ali SI. | year = 2014 | title = The Genus Acacia s.l. in Pakistan | journal = Pak J Bot | volume = 46 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–4 | url = https://www.pakbs.org/pjbot/PDFs/46(1)/01.pdf}}{{cite journal |vauthors=Boatwright JS, Maurin O, van der Bank M | year = 2015 | title = Phylogenetic position of Madagascan species of Acacia s.l. and new combinations in Senegalia and Vachellia (Fabaceae, Mimosoideae, Acacieae) | journal = Bot J Linn Soc | volume = 179 | issue = 2 | pages = 288–294 | doi = 10.1111/boj.12320| doi-access = free }}

{{div col|colwidth=300px}}

  • Vachellia jacquemontii (Benth.) ali—baonḷī, raati-banwali
  • Vachellia janzenii (Ebinger & Seigler) Seigler & Ebinger—Janzen acacia
  • Vachellia karroo (Hayne) Banfi & Galasso—Karroo BushTaxon in the V. karroo complex, see: {{cite web|last1=Roland |first1=Dr. Wolf-Achim |title=The Acacia (s.l.)-karroo complex, Status 2014 |url=http://www.acacia-world.net/index.php/africa-me/south-africa/the-vachellia-karroo-complex |website=Acacia World |access-date=20 November 2015}}
  • Vachellia kingii (Prain) Maslin, Seigler & Ebinger
  • Vachellia kirkii (Oliv.) Kyal. & Boatwr.—flood plain acacia
  • subsp. kirkii (Oliv.) Kyal. & Boatwr.
  • var. kirkii (Oliv.) Kyal. & Boatwr.
  • var. sublaevis (Brenan) Kyal. & Boatwr.
  • subsp. mildbraedii (Harms) Kyal. & Boatwr.
  • Vachellia koltermanii R. García, M. Mejía, Ebinger, & Seigler{{cite journal |vauthors=Seigler DS, García R, Mejía M, Ebinger JE | title = A new species of Vachellia (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) from Haiti | journal = Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas | volume = 6 | issue = 1 | pages = 45 | year = 2012 | url = http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/78422251/new-species-vachellia-fabaceae-mimosoideae-from-haiti | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160301230142/http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/78422251/new-species-vachellia-fabaceae-mimosoideae-from-haiti | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2016-03-01 }}
  • Vachellia kosiensis (P.P.Sw. ex Coates Palgr.) Kyal. & Boatwr.—dune acacia, dune sweet-thorn
  • Vachellia lahai (Steud. & Hochst. ex. Benth.) Kyal. & Boatwr.—red-thorn acacia
  • Vachellia lasiopetala (Oliv.) Kyal. & Boatwr.
  • Vachellia latispina (J.E.Burrows & S.M.Burrows) Kyal. & Boatwr.
  • Vachellia leucophloea (Roxb.) Maslin, Seigler & Ebinger—pilang
  • var. leucophloea (Roxb.) Maslin, Seigler & Ebinger
  • var. microcephala (Kurz) Maslin, Seigler & Ebinger
  • Vachellia leucospira (Brenan) Kyal. & Boatwr.
  • Vachellia luederitzii (Engl.) Kyal. & Boatwr.—bastard umbrella thorn
  • var. luederitzii (Engl.) Kyal. & Boatwr.—Kalahari-sand acacia
  • var. retinens (Sim) Kyal. & Boatwr.—balloon-thorn acacia

  • Vachellia macracantha (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) Seigler & Ebinger—longspine acacia, French casha, long-spine acacia, porknut, cambrón, long-spined acacia, (Jamaica) parknut, (Virgin Islands) wild tamarind, (Netherlands Antilles) Creole casha, Spanish casha, steel acacia, (Virgin Islands) stink casha, strink casha
  • Vachellia macrothyrsa (Harms) Kyal. & Boatwr.
  • Vachellia malacocephala (Harms) Kyal. & Boatwr.—black-galled acacia
  • Vachellia mayana (Lundell) Seigler & Ebinger—Maya Acacia

  • Vachellia xanthophloea (Benth.) P.J.H. Hurter—fever tree
  • Vachellia zanzibarica (S.Moore) Kyal. & Boatwr.—coastal whistling thorn
  • var. microphylla (Brenan) Kyal. & Boatwr.
  • var. zanzibarica (S.Moore) Kyal. & Boatwr.

{{div col end}}

''Incertae sedis''

These species are suspected to belong to Vachellia, but have not been formally transferred.

Hybrids

  • Vachellia × cedilloi (Rico Arce) Seigler & Ebinger
  • Vachellia campechiana × pennatula
  • Vachellia erioloba × haematoxylon
  • Vachellia × gladiata (Saff.) Seigler & Ebinger
  • Vachellia kirkii × seyal
  • Vachellia macracantha × pennatula
  • Vachellia seyal var. fistula × xanthophloea
  • Vachellia × standleyi (Saff.) Seigler & Ebinger

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q956173}}

Category:Fabaceae genera

Category:Taxa named by George Arnott Walker Arnott

Category:Taxa named by Robert Wight