Parque Nacional da Gorongosa Moçambique

Description

Fever thorn trees are members of the Acacia family found near permanent water sources, such as rivers, swamps, and pans.  This deciduous tree is easily recognized by its unique yellow-green bark, which is powdery, smooth, and peels in layers. Elephants are known to strip its bark with their backs. 

Sweetly scented, round yellow flowers bloom on fever thorn trees from August to November.  Their light brown pods are small, straight, papery thin, and a favorite food of vervet monkeys. The thorns are long, straight, and paired.  The trees vary widely in height, depending on their water source, but they are generally about 10 to 25 meters high.  The roots of the fever thorn tree fix nitrogen in the soil below.  The tree also enriches its soil by dropping its leaves each year.  It does not provide much shade, therefore other plants can grow underneath it.  It is also a favorite for nesting birds.

The fever thorn tree got its name from European pioneer farmers in Africa who believed that the trees contributed to the fevers associated with malaria.  However, its only connection to malaria is the mosquitoes that breed in and near the water and swampy areas found in fever thorn tree habitat.

The fever thorn tree has many local medicinal uses.  Its leaves are used to make a tea for treating coughs and bronchitis.  The bark is used for treating fevers and eye problems.  The wood is useful timber for building because it is hard and heavy.

How to See

The fever thorn tree is a common along the waterways and pans in Gorongosa National Park.  As you drive the game drive network, you are likely to see them as you approach water sources. On roads #4 and #11 you will see that fever thorn trees make up much of the tree line along the floodplain of Lake Urema.

Status

Africa: Common
Mozambique: Common
Gorongosa: Common

Conservation

Fever thorn trees and other woodland species could encroach on the Park’s floodplains because they prefer wet areas and because there are currently fewer numbers of herbivores in the Park than before the war.  If there are not enough animals to eat the vegetation, then tree species are able to survive in new areas.  The Park’s grassland habitat could shift to woodland habitat because of this imbalance in the ecosystem.  This would have conservation implications for other species that rely on grasses. But herbivore numbers are now increasing and this should restore the balance of grassland and woodland in Gorongosa Park.