Acacia karroo (Sweet thorn)

Soetdoring [Afrikaans]

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Eudicotyledons > Fabales > Family: Fabaceae > Genus: Acacia

Acacia karroo, near Kirkwood, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [photo H.G. Robertson, Iziko ©]

Acacia karroo flowering in summer on the Swaershoek mountains above Cradock, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [photos Colin Paterson-Jones ©]

A Brown-veined white butterfly (Belenois aurota) on Acacia karroo flower in summer after good rains on the flats below Gowementsberg in the Kamdeboo Mountains on the Great Escarpment just west of Aberdeen, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [photo Colin Paterson-Jones ©]

The most widely distributed Acacia species in southern Africa. It is an important source of firewood, the seeds are roasted as a coffee substitute, and it produces an edible gum exudate that is marketed as 'Cape Gum'. It thrives in water courses of the semi-arid karoo, being by far the most dominant and important tree species in this region. 

See also Ecological relationships of Acacia species in southern Africa.

Herbivores

List of Lepidoptera from Kroon (1999).

Anthene amarah Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae Larvae eat the leaves.
Anthene definita Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae Larvae eat the leaves.
Anthene otacilia Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae Larvae eat the leaves.
Anthene talboti Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae Larvae eat the leaves.
Axiocerses tjoane Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae Larvae eat the leaves.
Azanus moriqua Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae Larvae eat the leaves.
Azanus natalensis Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae Larvae eat the leaves.
Azanus ubaldus Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae Larvae eat the leaves.
Chrysoritis chrysaor Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae Larvae eat the leaves.
Crudaria leroma Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae Larvae eat the leaves.
Uranothauma nubifer Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae Larvae eat the leaves.
Charaxes zoolina Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae Larvae eat the leaves.
Hippotion celerio (Silver Striped Hawkmoth) Lepidoptera: Sphingidae (hawkmoths) Caterpillar eats the leaves.

Publications

• Kroon, D.M. 1999. Lepidoptera of Southern Africa. Host-plants and other Associations. A Catalogue. Lepidopterists' Society of Africa, South Africa.

• Rösch, M., Chown, S.L. & McGeoch, M.A. 2001. Testing a bioindicator assemblage: gall-inhabiting moths and urbanization. African Entomology 9: 85-94. [these moths have larvae that inhabit galls induced by the rust-fungus Ravenelia macowaniana on Acacia karroo].

Links

• Acacia karroo Hayne (Flora of Zimbabwe)