Vachellia abyssinica
Vachellia abyssinica
Vachellia abyssinica, also known as Acacia abyssinica or flat top acacia, is an aptly named flat and wide-crowned deciduous tree, with a peeling, yellowish-brown trunk at young age and reddish-brown trunk when older, growing up to 20 m (66 ft) tall. As a drought-tolerant species, it is becoming noteworthy in desert landscaping in the southern U.S., growing well in a pot or in-ground and producing many white blooms in the spring. Its natural habitat is woodland and montane grassland above 1000 m (3280 ft) in Ethiopia southwards to Mozambique. Its picturesque wide crown—sometimes up to 33 m (108 ft) in diameter—is caused by long branches and high numbers of seed pods, as well as environmental factors like repeated bird perching, which weigh down the canopy. This species also enriches soil by fixing nitrogen, and the wood has been used as firewood and to carve crafts.
Suitable for outdoor planting in USDA plant hardiness zones 10 to 11
Minimum tested germination rate is 67%
Collected in 2021 in Kenya