Senegalia nigrescens is a deciduous tree 5 – 18 meters tall, with a long cylindrical trunk covered in characteristic knob-like thorns. It has a rounded crown, paired thorns below the leaves, and bipinnate leaves with 2 – 3 pairs of pinnae. Flowers are yellowish-white in elongated spikes from August to November, followed by dark brown, thin pods in pendant clusters. The tree is widespread in savanna regions, often at low altitudes and in rocky, well-drained soils.
Flowers are a key dietary component for giraffes, baboons, and monkeys. Leaves and shoots are browsed by kudu, giraffe, elephant, impala, and steenbok. The tree is host to hole-nesting birds and larvae of the dusky charaxes butterfly. The bark is stripped by elephants, and caterpillars feed on leaves in spring. Natural holes are used by birds and small mammals for nesting.
Yellowish-white flowers in elongated spikes; pods are dark brown, thin, and hang in clusters, eaten by herbivores.
Provides nesting sites for hole-nesting birds; top branches are nesting platforms for large birds like White-backed Vultures.
Soak seeds in hot water overnight before sowing; easy to transplant seedlings.
Not commonly used; seed propagation preferred.
Used for timber, fence posts, firewood, and medicinal purposes.
Leaves and pods included in the diet of many herbivores.
Not known to be toxic.
Useful for savanna restoration, supporting wildlife, and soil stabilization.
