Vachellia robusta subs. robusta spines

Vachellia robusta subsp. robusta leaf stipules are spinescent, the spines white, straight, growing in angled pairs at the nodes. They are hard and sharp-pointed, capable of doing damage to human and animal bodies moving through carelessly, particularly in the dark.

The thorns vary considerably in thickness near the base while in length they may be short, around 2 cm or long, up to 10 cm (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Pooley, 1993; Grant and Thomas, 2001).