Parkinsonia africana Sond.

Virgately branched shrub or tree up to 6 m high, armed with stout spines which are modified lateral shoots and which are often branched and bear leaves and inflorescences; young branchlets pale greenish-yellow or yellowish-brown, becoming greyish brown to grey or brown with age, subglabrous or occasionally finely pubescent when young. Leaves reduced to green pinnae-rhachillae (2)4-15 cm long, terete or subterete, slightly grooved on the upper surface, with up to 15 nodes but no leaflets or occasionally with minute inconspicuous scale-like linear or oblanceolate opposite leaflets up to 1.5 x 0.5 mm. Stipules inconspicuous, not spinescent. Racemes lax, up to 18 cm long; bracts up to 1.5 mm long, ± ovate, soon deciduous. Flowers yellow, on pedicels 3-10 mm long (excluding the elongate lower part of the hypanthium). Receptacle consisting of a disc up to 3 mm in diameter and a lower elongate part up to 10 mm long which simulates the pedicel; the disc usually remaining in fruit to form a small collar. Sepals 5-8 mm long, narrowly-ovate to ± oblong, narrowly imbricate, becoming reflexed in flower, subglabrous or with short scattered hairs. Petals 7-12 mm long, the upper one larger than the others, with a distinct claw and a ± reniform lamina; the other petals ovate-lanceolate. Stamens up to 12 mm long, filaments densely pubescent below; anthers 1-1.7 mm long. Ovary glabrous or with few scattered hairs, especially on the margins. Pods brown, (3.5)5-13 cm long, 0.6-0.95 cm wide, linear, straight or curved and sometimes ± falcate, attenuate at both ends, flattened, often somewhat constricted between the seeds, glabrous, longitudinally venose, indehiscent or perhaps very tardily dehiscent. Seeds 7-9.5 X 5-6 x 2-3 mm, oblong, elongated longitudinally in the pods, mottled, light brown with dark brown markings, smooth.

A tropical plant. It grows on sandy plains in arid areas. It grows in the desert in Namibia. It grows in stony and sandy soils. It grows between 100-1,350 m above sea level. In Costa Rica it occurs in dry lowland areas. It can grow in arid places.

The seeds are sometimes used for coffee. They are roasted, ground and boiled in water as coffee. They are sometimes added to coffee to improve the flavour. The fruit are used to prepare a drink. The leaves are eaten as a vegetable.