Knob-thorn

Knoppiesdoring · Senegalia nigrescens

One of the most recognisable trees of the Lowveld and a co-star of the marula-knobthorn savanna. Its spring flower spikes scent the bush and draw browsers up into the canopy.

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How to identify it

Look at the trunk and lower branches for hard woody knobs, each tipped with a short hooked thorn. Tall and rather upright with a sparse rounded crown; in spring it carries dense cream, spike-like flower tassels, often before the leaves are fully out.

Flowers & fruit

Creamy-white flower spikes in early spring, roughly August–November.

Browsed by

Giraffe browse the leaves and flowers high in the canopy (leaving a browse line); kudu and elephant also browse the foliage, and elephants strip the bark.

Where to see it in Kruger

Common and widespread across the central and southern park on both granite and basalt soils, a dominant tree of the mixed knobthorn-marula woodland.

Did you know

Giraffe are so keen on the flowers and young leaves that they carry pollen from tree to tree on their faces, and are often cited as the knob-thorn's main pollinator.

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