Leguminosae-mim Acacia mellifera (Vahl)Benth.

| |	© Richard Barnes

Places where this species can be found :

• Diare (Tamale - Bolgatanga road) - NSBPGHANA

Species information

Interest
A slow burning firewood valued by the Mbeere tribe in Kenya for cooking, it is a preferred firewood in Tanzania and an excellent charcoal. Its thorny branches are also used by the Mbeere for livestock pens. It is grown for stock proof live hedges. As the name suggests an important honey source, the honey being water coloured and taking over a year to granulate. Produces an edible gum, and pods have been eaten as a famine food in the Turkana region of northern Kenya. Fibres from the roots were formerly used in the Sudan to make sacks for storing gum, and bast fibres used for wickerwork in the Sahel (Wickens et al. 1995). Useful browse in some areas, its roots are also used for making baskets.

Other Notes
Species characteristics: Often a dense obconical chrub, it can develop into a tree to 6 (9) m tall. It has relatively large leaflets, one or two pairs per pinnae. It has two subspecies seperated by the number of pinnae pairs and their peduncles. It is widespread in dry bushland, thornveld and wooded grassland, and in the north prefers loamy soils. It can form impenetrable thickets over much of its range. It is a prolific flowerer, and it specific name refers to being a useful honey plant. Common names: ssp. mellifera : Eritrea: Haq (Tigre); Ethiopia: Bilili (Dasanetch), Radi a Kora (Mursi); Kenya: Banyirit (Pokot), Bilel (Somali), Curach (Boran), Ebenyo (Turkana), Eiti (Masai), Ekunoit (Turkana), Erenyo (Turkana), Habalkes (Orma), Iit (plural) (Masai), Iti (Samburu), Kathigira (Tharaka), Kathiia (Kamba), Kikwata (Giriama), Kikwata (Swahili), Kithiia (Kamba), Lanen (Somali), Mgoror (Tugen), Milikin-ki-badda (Rendille), Muthigira (Embu), Muthigira (Tharaka), Muthiia (Kamba), Ng'orore (Tugen), Ngororo (Tugen), Oiti (Masai), Oiti(plural) (Masai), Oito-Orok (Masai), Panyuriit (Pokot), Talamoga (Pokot), Talamogh (Pokot), Talamogh (Turkana), Talamow (Pokot); Somalia: Bilel (Warsangeleh); Sudan: Ajondoke (Dinka), Kitr (Arabic), Kittir (Baggara Arabic), Kittur (Arabic), Shok (Arabic); Tanzania: Mdugala (Kisukuma), Militimoko- Hadza (Tindiga), Miritimoko (Tindiga), Mlugala (Nyamwezi), Oete (Kimasai), Oyeti (Masai), Rek'etto (Sandawe), Wait a bit thorn (English). ssp. detinens: Kenya: Kikwatha (Giriama), Talamogh (Pokot); Tanzania: Kimodoa (Kipare), Msasa (Kiluguru), Msasa (Zigua); Zimbabwe: Ngaga (Ndebele). Distribution: ssp. mellifera : widespread in the continent spreading to Arabia in Angola (Benguela); Ethiopia (Harerge, Shewa, Awash valley, Sidamo, Gamo Gofa); Kenya (Turkana, Rift valley, Coast, Northern Frontier, Masai, Kajiado, Garissa, Machakos, Eastern, Laikipia, Nairobi, Kitui, Fort Hall, Narok, Taita, Maralal, Samburu, Meru, Embu, Kwale, Moyale, Baringo, Thika, North Nyeri, Mombasa, Kilifi, Lamu, Pokot, Nanyuki, Machakos/Kitui, Taita Taveta, Nithi); Saudi Arabia ; Somalia (Hiiraan, Shabeellaha Hoose, Sanaag, Jubbada hoose, Nugaal, Bari, Togdheer); Sudan (Darfur, Kordofan, Ilemi Triangle, Ash Sharqiyah, Al Wusta, Bahr al Ghazal, Darfour); Tanzania (Coast, Bagamoyo, Handeni, Korogwe, Tanga, Nzega, Lushoto, Kondoa, Mbulu, Musoma, Masai, Arusha, Mpwapwa, Pangani, Lindi, Pare, Dodoma, Morogoro, Kilosa, Same, Ufipa); Uganda (Mbale, Karamoja); Zimbabwe (Nyamandhlovu); Namibia (Kaokoland, ); Eritrea. ssp. detinens: widespread from Tanzania southwards found in Angola (Huila); Botswana (Chobe, Central, South East, Ngamiland, Ghanzi, South Eastern, Kgatleng, Southern, Kgalagadi, Northern, Gaborone, South west); Malawi (Machinga); Mozambique (Zambesi); South Africa (Transvaal, Cape, Free); Swaziland (Lubombo); Tanzania (Handeni, Nzega, Mbeya, Iringa, Shinyanga, Mpwapwa, Pare, Singida, Morogoro, Kilosa); Zambia (Southern, Western, Northern, Namwala); Zimbabwe (Hwange, Gokwe, Hurungwe, Nyamandhlovu, Matobo, Mwenezi, Kariba, Mangwe, Matabeleland); Namibia (Kaokoland, Windhoek, Otjiwarongo, Maltahohe, Okahandja, Caprivi Oos, Namaland). Altitude range: ssp. mellifera : 30-1829m; ssp. detinens: 100- (800-1200) -1675m

Specimen information

Collector
Barnes, R. D.

Specimen Number
4522