''Dichrostachys'' is an

Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...

genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the family

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

. Their ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

''-like leaves are bi-pinnately compound. Unlike ''Acacia'' their thorns are hardened branchlets rather than modified stipules. They are native from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

, but a

centre of diversity A Vavilov center or center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by Nikolai Vavilov. Vavilov posit ...

is present in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. Their name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

words ''dis'' (two), ''chroos'' (colour) and ''stachys'' (grain ear or spike), which in combination suggests their bi-colored

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

Species

16 species are accepted: * '' Dichrostachys akataensis'' Villiers * '' Dichrostachys arborescens'' (

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

) Villiers * '' Dichrostachys bernieriana'' Baill. * ''

Dichrostachys cinerea ''Dichrostachys cinerea'', known as sicklebush, Bell mimosa, Chinese lantern tree or Kalahari Christmas tree (South Africa), is a legume of the genus '' Dichrostachys'' in the family Fabaceae. Other common names include omubambanjobe (Tooro Uga ...

'' ( L.)

Wight A wight is a being or thing. This general meaning is shared by cognate terms in Germanic languages, however the usage of the term varies greatly over time and between regions. In Old English, it could refer to anything in existence, with more s ...

Arn. George Arnott Walker Arnott of Arlary (6 February 1799 – 17 April 1868) was a Scottish botanist. He collaborated with botanists from around the world and served as a regius professor of botany at the University of Glasgow. An orchid genus ' ...

* '' Dichrostachys dehiscens'' Balf. f. * '' Dichrostachys dumetaria'' Villiers * '' Dichrostachys kirkii'' Benth. * '' Dichrostachys myriophylla'' * '' Dichrostachys paucifoliolata'' ( Scott-Elliot)

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

* '' Dichrostachys pervilleana'' (Baill.) Drake * '' Dichrostachys richardiana'' Baill. * '' Dichrostachys scottiana'' (Drake) Villiers * '' Dichrostachys spicata'' (

F.Muell. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria (state), Vic ...

) Domin * '' Dichrostachys tenuifolia'' Benth. * '' Dichrostachys unijuga''

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

* '' Dichrostachys venosa'' Villiers

References

Legume WEB
* Fabaceae genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Robert Wight {{Mimosoideae-stub