Vachellia robusta
Vachellia robusta, the splendid thorn, is an Afrotropical tree species.
It is native to eastern and southern Africa, ranging from Ethiopia and Somalia in the north to South Africa and Namibia in southern Africa.
Subspecies
Three subspecies are accepted:- Vachellia robusta subsp. clavigera Kyal. & Boatwr. – native to Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, and South Africa.
- Vachellia robusta subsp. robusta – native to South Africa, Botswana, and western Zimbabwe.
- Vachellia robusta subsp. usambarensis Kyal. & Boatwr. – native to Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique. It is a common canopy tree in drier undifferentiated forest communities in the Northern and Southern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic of coastal Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique, where it grows up to 20 meters high.