ON THIS PLANT
Vachellia drepanolobium, more commonly known as Acacia drepanolobium or whistling thorn, 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.
CHARACTERISTICS
Botanical profile.
ALSO KNOWN AS
Other names.
en Ant-gall acacia en Black-gall acacia en Whistlethorn en Whistling Thorn en Black-galled acacia
PLATES
