The sweet thorn is a smallish (8m) deciduous tree, with a spreading, roundish crown and a low-branching stem. Sometimes these stems grow exceptionally long, with bare and slender crowns. The old stems are black/dark grey and the bark splits up into narrow, irregular, longitudinal ridges.

The flowers are bright yellow powder-puffs consisting of a large number of florets, which attract masses of insects, which in turn attract birds. The fruits are nearly sickle shaped, and are dark brown when ripe. The thorns are straight and grow in pairs, white, sharp and up to 7cm long; they are sometimes absent from some branches. The pods and leaves are good fodder for livestock and game.

The wood is off-white to pale brown, is fairly hard and heavy. As it works easily, it is popular in wagon and furniture manufacturing as well as the building trade, mainly being used as fence posts. It is used medicinally to treat a wide variety of ailments. The living bark is used in basket and rope making and the gum is sometimes used in pharmaceutical products and is edible. It is a valuable and well-known fodder tree and can adapt to extremes of temperatures. It is a fast-growing tree from seed, and is both frost and drought resistant. It is one of the most widespread trees in Namibia and southern Africa, particularly in the south and central regions.

Trees of Namibia

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