Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_vachellia_planifrons
Umbrella thorn
Vachellia planifrons
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About Umbrella thorn
Umbrella thorn (Vachellia planifrons) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to southern India and Sri Lanka in seasonally dry tropical scrub, thorn forest and open woodland. Insect-pollinated flower heads produce hard-coated seeds in flattened pods, and establishment is favored by warm seasonally dry conditions.
Kauaʻi evidence
Taxonomic identity, tree form, diagnostic morphology and island occurrence use the linked reviewed sources. Historical planting, cultivation, naturalization and invasive status are separate. Generated imagery is not occurrence evidence. The 1918–1959 Kauaʻi reforestation working register records 247 plants under Acacia planiformis across 2 entries dated 1934–1936. These are recorded planting quantities, not counts of surviving trees, and they do not by themselves establish current persistence, naturalization, or ecological impact. Source: Kauaʻi Reforestation Plantings 1918–1959 working register (user-supplied; reconciled 6 October 2026).
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Vachellia planifrons
- Common names
- Umbrella thorn
- Other names
- Vachellia planifrons · umbrella thorn · Acacia planiformis · Acacia planifrons
- Record type
- Species
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Recorded on Kauaʻi
- Origin
- Introduced
- Conservation status
- Not yet assessed
- Evidence date
- 2026-10-05
- Evidence limits
- Current extent is unassessed; public locality is island level only.
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Not yet assessed
- Food and resource needs
- Not yet assessed
- Reproduction
- Not yet assessed
- Shelter
- Not yet assessed
- Growth form
- Woody tree
Threats and conservation
- Monitoring
- Not yet assessed
- Data gaps
- Current population extent and trajectory · Additional species-specific ecological and conservation sources
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Not yet assessed
- Seasonal description
- Umbrella thorn (Vachellia planifrons) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to southern India and Sri Lanka in seasonally dry tropical scrub, thorn forest and open woodland. Insect-pollinated flower heads produce hard-coated seeds in flattened pods, and establishment is favored by warm seasonally dry conditions.