Sweet Thorn

Afrikaans name: Soetdoring

Photo © Steven Herbert

Acacia karroo

The Sweet Thorn tree is found over most of southern Africa from Angola to South Africa. It is found in various habitats but grows bigger in areas of higher rainfall.

In some areas the Sweet Thorn grows no bigger than a shrub and in others it can grow to a height of 12 metres.

The thorns are long and white and grow in pairs. The flowers of the Sweet Thorn are yellow.

The Sweet Thorn is used for a number of purposes but the most interesting use is making candy from the gum that seeps out of cracks in the bark.

Photo © Steven Herbert

References and further reading

Wild About Johannesburg - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 1995 - Page: 92

Wild Flowers of Namaqualand - Author: Annelise Le Roux - Published: 2015 - Page: 195

Wildflowers of the Northern Cape - Author: Jill Adams - Published: 1976 - Page: 80

Trees of Kruger - Author: Braam and Piet van Wyk - Published: 2023 - Page: 91

Trees of Southern Africa - 3rd edition - Author: Keith Coates Palgrave - Published: 2002 - Page: 284

Trees & Shrubs of the Witwatersrand, Magaliesberg & Pilanesberg - Author: Joan van Gogh - Published: 1988 - Page: 32

Whats that Tree? - Author: Eugene Moll - Published: 2011 - Page: 57

Trees and Shrubs of the Witwatersrand - Author: Tree Society of SA - Published: 1974 - Page: 252

The Sandton Field Guide - Author: Sandton Nature Conservation Society - Published: 1982 - Page: 198

The Natal Bushveld - Volume 1 - Author: Natal Parks Board - Published: 1981 - Page: 49

The Complete Field Guide to Trees of Natal, Zululand and Transkei - Author: Elsa Pooley - Published: 1994 - Page: 130

Sappi Tree Spotting: KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape - 2nd edition - Author: Val Thomas and Rina Grant - Published: 2004 - Page: 170

Sasol First Field Guide to Trees of Southern Africa - Author: Elsa Pooley - Published: 1999 - Page: 11

Sixty-six Transvaal Trees - Author: B de Winter, M de Winter & D Killick - Published: 1996 - Page: 50

Sappi Tree Spotting: Highveld and the Drakensburg - Author: Val Thomas and Rina Grant - Published: 1998 - Page: 126

SA Wild Flower Guide No 4 - Transvaal Lowveld - Author: Jo Onderstall - Published: 1984 - Page: 100

SA Wild Flower Guide No 6 - Karoo - Author: David Shearing & Katryn van Heerden - Published: 1997 - Page: 78

Sappi Tree Spotting: Bushveld - 2nd edition - Author: R Grant and V Thomas - Published: 2005 - Page: 156

SA Wild Flower Guide No 10 - Cederberg, Clanwilliam and Biedouw Valley - Author: Gretel van Rooyen and Hester Steyn - Published: 1999 - Page: 130

Pollinators, Predators and Parasites - Author: C. Scholtz, J. Scholtz, H. De Klerk - Published: 2021 - Page: 219

Plants of the Baviaanskloof - Author: D Euston-Brown & M Kruger - Published: 2023 - Page: 380

Pocket Guide - Trees of Southern Africa - Author: Piet van Wyk - Published: 2013 - Page: 34

Namaqualand in Flower - Author: Sima Eliovson - Published: 1972 - Page: 80

Photographic Guide to Trees of Southern Africa - Author: B, P, and B-E van Wyk - Published: 2000 - Page: 33

Piet van Wyks Field Guide to the Trees of the Kruger National Park - 1st edition - Author: Piet van Wyk - Published: 1988 - Page: 67

Illustrated Guide to the Game Parks and Nature Reserves of SA - 2nd edn - Author: Readers Digest - Published: 1991 - Page: 390

Indigenous Beginnings - Author: Anneke Kearney - Published: 2008 - Page: 23

Indigenous Garden Plants of Southern Africa - Author: Glenice Ebedes - Published: 2017 - Page: 52

Garden Birds in South Africa - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 2017 - Page: 160

Healing Trees & Plants of the Lowveld - Author: Dumes, Loon and Bester - Published: 2009 - Page: 10

Field Guide To The Wild Flowers Of The Witwatersrand & Pretoria Region - Author: Braam van Wyk & Sasa Malan - Published: 1988 - Page: 162

Common Trees of the Highveld - Author: Drummond & Coates Palgrave - Published: 1973 - Page: 47

Eastern Cape Veld Flowers - 2nd edition - Author: Eily Gledhill - Published: 1981 - Page: 128

Everyones Guide to Trees of South Africa - Author: Keith, Paul and Meg Coates Palgrave - Published: 1989 - Page: 32

Field Guide to the Acacias of South Africa - Author: Nico Smit - Published: 2008 - Page: 34

Field Guide to the Trees of the Kruger National Park - 5th edition - Author: Piet van Wyk - Published: 2008 - Page: 67

A Field Guide to the Trees of Southern Africa - Revised - Author: E. Palmer - Published: 1983 - Page: 142

A Field Guide to the Trees of Southern Africa - 1st edition - Author: E. Palmer - Published: 1977 - Page: 128

For more info: SANBI

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