The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™

   ISSN 2307-8235 (online)

   IUCN 2008: T19892054A19997854

Acacia ehrenbergiana, Salam

Assessment by: Contu, S.

View on www.iucnredlist.org

Citation: Contu, S. 2012. Acacia ehrenbergiana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012:
e.T19892054A19997854. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T19892054A19997854.en

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Taxonomy
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family

Plantae Tracheophyta Magnoliopsida Fabales Leguminosae

Taxon Name:  Acacia ehrenbergiana Hayne

Synonym(s):
• Acacia flava

Common Name(s):
• English: Salam
Taxonomic Notes:
A. ehrenbergiana is similar to A. hockii, but differs in having only 1-2(-3) pairs of pinnae, and a
somewhat different distributional range; also occupies drier habitats. Also resembling A. seyal for which
it has been mistaken.

Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published: 2012

Date Assessed: November 18, 2009

Justification:
Acacia ehrenbergiana has a wide distribution range at present. This is an important legume species for
indigenous populations (it is used to feed animals, such as goats, sheep and camels, to produce high
quality honey, for charcoal, as herbal medicine etc.), it is therefore important to ensure that this species
is not overexploited in the future leading to a population decline and to a threatened category. At
present the population is believed to be stable, hence it is rated as Least Concern.

Geographic Range
Range Description:
Acacia ehrenbergiana is found in the North Sahel and the Southern and Central Sahara. Also found in
the Arabian Peninsula, and East Africa.

Country Occurrence:
Native: Algeria; Cameroon; Chad; Djibouti; Egypt; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Mali;
Mauritania; Morocco; Niger; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Sudan; United Arab Emirates; Western Sahara;
Yemen

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Acacia ehrenbergiana – published in 2012. 1
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T19892054A19997854.en
Population
A. ehrenbergiana is widespread and abundant in its distribution range and is often the dominant species
in desert communities vegetation.
Current Population Trend:  Stable

Habitat and Ecology (see Appendix for additional information)

A. ehrenbergiana is a much branched tall shrub or small tree (2-7 m tall), which grows in dry semi-desert
areas on sandy and clay soil and on stony screes. A. ehrenbergiana is one of the most drought-tolerant
among the common African acacias occurring in the rainfall belts 50-400 mm. Its distribution differs
from that of A. seyal, as the latter is a typical Sahelian and Sudanian species occurring in rainfall belts
between 400 and 800 mm, on fine-textured soils only.

The species is also known to occur in many ecoregions (WWF Ecoregions), such as Sahara desert,
Sahelian Acacia savanna, southwestern Arabian foothills savanna, Red Sea Nubo-Sindian tropical desert
and semi-desert, Arabian Desert and East Sahero-Arabian xeric shrublands and South Iran Nubo-Sindian
desert and semi-desert.

Systems:  Terrestrial

Use and Trade (see Appendix for additional information)

In Yemen this species is used a firewood, for animals (e.g. sheep, goats and camels), charcoal
production, and as herbal medicine.

Threats
At present there are no known major threats which might cause a population decline for this species.

Conservation Actions (see Appendix for additional information)

There are no known conservation measures specifically for A. ehrenbergiana, however, the species is
known to occur in some protected areas: Wadi Allaqi Biosphere Reserve, Elba National Park (Egypt),
Uruq Bani Ma'arid Protected Area and Ar-Rub'al-Khali Wildlife Management. Samples of seed of A.
ehrenbergiana are held in the Millennium Seed Bank as an ex situ conservation measure.

Credits
Assessor(s): Contu, S.

Reviewer(s): Hilton-Taylor, C.

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Acacia ehrenbergiana – published in 2012. 2
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T19892054A19997854.en
Bibliography
Akoegninou, A., van der Burg, J.W. and var der Maesen, L.J.G. 2006. Flore analytique du Benin. Backhuys,
Leiden.

Al-Jeffri, J.H.A. 2009. Economic viability study of Acacia ehrenbergiana (Salam) plantations In the
Tihama Region of Yemen. Hodiedah, Yemen.

Boudet, G. and Lebrun, J.P. 1986. Catalogue des Plantes Vasculaires du Mali. Institut d'elevage et de
médicine vétérinaire des pays tropicaux, Maisons Alfort.

Boulos, L. 1995. Flora of Egypt- Checklist. Al Hadara, Cairo Egypt.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 1983. Notes on trees and shrubs in arid and semi-arid regions.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome.

Halwagy, R. 1961. The vegetation of the semi-desert north east of Khartoum, Sudan. Oikos 12(Fasc. 1):
87-110.

IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2012.2). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org.
(Accessed: 17 October 2012).

Karim, F.M. and Fawzi, N.M. 2007. Flora of the United Arab Emirates. United Arab Emirates University,
Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates.

Kassas, M. and Girgis, W.A. 1970. Habitat and plant communities in the Egyptian desert: VII.
Geographical facies of plant communities. Journal of Ecology 58(2): 335-350.

Maydell, H.-J. 1990. Trees and shrubs of the Sahel: their characteristics and uses. Verlag Josef Margraf,
Weikersheim.

Parsa, A. 1948. Flore de l'Iran. Volume 2. Imprimerie Mazaheri, Teheran.

Shaltout, K.H., Sheded, M.G. and Salem, A.H. 2009. Population structure of common shrubs and trees in
Wadi Allaqi Biosphere Reserve, South-East Egypt. Feddes Repertorium 120(5-6): 343-354.

Sheded, I.S.M. and Murphy, K.J. 1997. The plant biodiversity of the Wadi Allaqi Biiosphere Reserve
(Egypt): impact of Lake Nasser on a desert wadi ecosystem. Biodiversity and Conservation 6: 1259-1275.

Wickens, G.E. 1995. Role of Acacia species in the rural economy of dry Africa and the Near East. Food &
Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome.

Citation
Contu, S. 2012. Acacia ehrenbergiana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012:
e.T19892054A19997854. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T19892054A19997854.en

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To make use of this information, please check the Terms of Use.

External Resources
For Images and External Links to Additional Information, please see the Red List website.

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Acacia ehrenbergiana – published in 2012. 3
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T19892054A19997854.en
 Appendix

Habitats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Major
Habitat Season Suitability
Importance?

2. Savanna -> 2.1. Savanna - Dry - Suitable -

4. Grassland -> 4.5. Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical Dry - Suitable -

8. Desert -> 8.1. Desert - Hot - Suitable -

Use and Trade

(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

End Use Local National International

Food - animal Yes No No

Medicine - human & veterinary Yes No No

Fuels Yes No No

Conservation Actions in Place

(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Conservation Actions in Place

In-Place Land/Water Protection and Management

Occur in at least one PA: Yes

In-Place Species Management

Subject to ex-situ conservation: Yes

Conservation Actions Needed

(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Conservation Actions Needed

1. Land/water protection -> 1.1. Site/area protection

2. Land/water management -> 2.1. Site/area management

Research Needed
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Acacia ehrenbergiana – published in 2012. 4
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T19892054A19997854.en
 Research Needed
1. Research -> 1.2. Population size, distribution & trends

1. Research -> 1.5. Threats

3. Monitoring -> 3.1. Population trends

Additional Data Fields

Distribution
Lower elevation limit (m): 0

Upper elevation limit (m): 1500

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Acacia ehrenbergiana – published in 2012. 5
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T19892054A19997854.en
The IUCN Red List Partnership

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species
Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership. The IUCN
Red List Partners are: BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation
International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas
A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London.

THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™