Vachellia gerrardii

Acacia iraqensis Rch. fil. A. gerrardii var. najdensis Chaudhary, A. pachyceras var. najdensis (Chaudhary) Boulos

Tree up to 7-10 m in height, spiny, hermaphrodite, deciduous, usually with a multi-stemmed trunk and highly branched towards the top, and an intricate crown. Trunk and main branches with bark fissured longitudinally, grey or greyish-red, that does not peel. Young branches hairy at first, then reddish-brown and glabrous. Stipular spines 2-5(8) cm, paired, almost horizontal, straight, whitish, sometimes reduced to hooked spines 3-5 mm. Leaves 2.5-6 cm, alternate, bipinnate, with petiole c. 1 cm, petiole and rachis tomentose, the latter with 3-9 pairs of pinnae —with 1 gland at the insertion of the upper pinnae—, each with (8)10-20(23) pairs of leaflets 1.7-3.5 × 0.8-1.2 mm, oblong, rounded at the apex, subsessile, tomentose-puberulent, rarely glabrous, green. Inflorescences in spherical capitula, 8-12(15) mm in diameter, axillary, solitary or in fascicles of up to 3, pedunculate —peduncle up to 3 cm, tomentose— with numerous minute flowers, white, cream or pale yellow. Calyx c. 1.5 mm, with puberulous teeth. Corolla c. 2.5 mm. Stamens numerous. Pods 6-12 cm × 6-12(16) mm, linear or with slightly sinuous margins, pendulous, falcate, not constricted between the seeds, compressed, reddish-brown, puberulent-tomentose although sometimes glabrous with age, dehiscent , with 6-8 seeds. Seeds 6-8 × 6-8 mm, ellipsoid, compressed, brown, smooth.