{
  "release_id": "thrive-v1-9d751b6f6d1787853e7f8e31",
  "flora_id": 18,
  "display_name": "Vachellia tortilis",
  "scientific_name": "Acacia tortilis",
  "document": {
    "schema_version": "flora-language-separated-v0.3",
    "language": "en",
    "id": 18,
    "taxonomy": {
      "original_scientific_name": "Acacia tortilis",
      "accepted_name": "Vachellia tortilis (Forssk.) Galasso & Banfi",
      "family": "Fabaceae",
      "genus": "Vachellia"
    },
    "display_name": "Vachellia tortilis",
    "family_display": "Fabaceae",
    "genus_display": "Vachellia",
    "description": {
      "summary": "Seedlings of Acacia tortilis subsp. raddiana from Gezira, Sudan, received a first-week NaCl pulse followed by freshwater recovery; seeds collected at Bou Hedma, Tunisia and identified by the authors as var. ‘raddiana’ germinated at 21% under 22 g/L NaCl. The studies used different provenances, treatments, and life stages and do not yield a single threshold.",
      "sections": [
        {
          "id": "s01",
          "title": "Overview",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s01-p01",
              "text": "Salinity evidence comes from distinct materials: Mehari et al. tested seedlings of A. tortilis subsp. raddiana from Gezira, Sudan, with a first-week NaCl pulse followed by freshwater; Jaouadi et al. tested seeds collected at Bou Hedma, Tunisia and identified by the authors as A. tortilis subsp. raddiana var. ‘raddiana’ in a germination experiment. The first experiment's pulse concentrations are not four weeks of continuous root-zone salinity.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S2"
              ],
              "claim_type": "project_synthesis"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "s02",
          "title": "Names and classification",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s02-p01",
              "text": "The accepted name used here is Vachellia tortilis (Forssk.) Galasso & Banfi. Mehari et al.'s seedling salt experiment used material identified in the original paper as A. tortilis subsp. raddiana from Gezira, Sudan; Jaouadi et al.'s seed-germination study used seeds identified by the authors as A. tortilis subsp. raddiana var. ‘raddiana’, collected at Bou Hedma, Tunisia. Each experiment is described under its source's material and taxonomic scope; neither is generalized to the full species complex.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S2",
                "S6"
              ],
              "claim_type": "source_fact"
            },
            {
              "id": "s02-p02",
              "text": "POWO treats Acacia tortilis (Forssk.) Hayne as a synonym of Vachellia tortilis and accepts V. tortilis subsp. raddiana. The experimental name is retained when describing the source study.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S2",
                "S6"
              ],
              "claim_type": "project_synthesis"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "s03",
          "title": "Morphology and identification",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s03-p01",
              "text": "A thorny shrub or tree, often with an umbrella-shaped crown, bipinnate leaves, small pale flowers, and curved or twisted pods. Infraspecific variation and identification matter: the salt experiment discussed here used material identified as subsp. raddiana, not a sample representing the full species complex.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S2"
              ],
              "claim_type": "source_fact"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "s04",
          "title": "Distribution, habitat and phenology",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s04-p01",
              "text": "Species accounts from Africa and western Asia mainly describe dry to semi-arid woodland, savanna, and sandy sites; the cited sources do not document a georeferenced native salt marsh, salt lake, or saline-floodplain root-zone population. Table 2 of the Al-Saidi et al. (2006) proceeding cited by BiosalineDB gives cumulative germination by days 3–18 across 0.6–20 dS/m; by day 18, A. tortilis reached 94.0% at 0.6 dS/m and 26.0% at 20 dS/m. Table 1 reports leaf proline concentrations of 2.17±0.18, 2.92±0.36, and 4.67±0.27 μmol/g FW and leaf N of 3.69±0.03, 3.11±0.15, and 2.85±0.11% under sea-salt irrigation at 0.6, 6, and 12 dS/m. The short paper also describes a shadehouse trial with 540 one-year-old seedlings pooled across three species; it gives neither A. tortilis provenance nor species-specific seedling numbers, so this total does not establish a transferable dose–growth relationship for this species.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S2",
                "S3",
                "S4",
                "S6"
              ],
              "claim_type": "source_fact"
            },
            {
              "id": "s04-p02",
              "text": "The available taxonomic and ecological sources do not provide a flowering or fruiting calendar that can be applied consistently; a single regional observation is insufficient to characterize the species.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S6"
              ],
              "claim_type": "evidence_gap"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "s05",
          "title": "Salinity in natural habitats",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s05-p01",
              "text": "Native-range accounts chiefly describe arid woodland and savanna and do not document a specific population in saline root-zone habitat. The cited experiment tested a salt-water pulse in seedlings from one Sudanese subspecies provenance.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S2"
              ],
              "claim_type": "project_synthesis"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "s06",
          "title": "Salinity studies",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s06-p01",
              "text": "Mehari et al. grew two-month-old A. tortilis subsp. raddiana seedlings from Gezira, Sudan, in river-sand pots and compared 0, 150, and 300 mM NaCl. Salt water was applied four times on alternate days during the first week; plants then received fresh water daily to field capacity for three weeks. Stem and root relative growth rates, leaf shedding, and water potential were measured at four weeks. Growth-rate data remained available after the 150 and 300 mM pulses, but all leaves had been shed by week four, and the authors classified this material as sensitive under their criterion. Freshwater after the first week means the pulse concentrations were not continuous root-zone salinities.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1"
              ],
              "claim_type": "source_fact"
            },
            {
              "id": "s06-p02",
              "text": "Jaouadi et al. tested NaCl germination in seeds collected in August 2005 at Bou Hedma National Park, Tunisia, and identified as A. tortilis subsp. raddiana var. ‘raddiana’. Seeds were soaked in concentrated sulfuric acid for 1 h, washed in distilled water for 15 min, treated with Benlate for 1 h and rinsed, then placed in perlite-filled Petri dishes in darkness at 25 °C and watered daily with distilled water containing NaCl. The 30-day test recorded germinated seeds daily and measured germination percentage and mean germination time; Table 3 reports 21% germination at 22 g/L. This is a seed response from one collection site, not evidence of seedling or adult performance across the species complex.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S2"
              ],
              "claim_type": "source_fact"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "s07",
          "title": "Reported mechanisms and ecological adaptations",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s07-p01",
              "text": "The study measured growth, water potential, and leaf drop, with freshwater flushing after the initial salt pulse as a key part of the design. The authors classified this Sudanese seed source as salt-sensitive under their criterion. The experiment does not support a mechanism inferred from continuous exposure.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S2"
              ],
              "claim_type": "project_synthesis"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "id": "s08",
          "title": "Conclusions and evidence gaps",
          "paragraphs": [
            {
              "id": "s08-p01",
              "text": "The BiosalineDB “Tolerant” label gives no threshold. Tables 1–2 of the Al-Saidi et al. (2006) proceeding contain quantitative germination results for each of the three species and leaf proline and nitrogen data. Its shadehouse trial used 540 one-year-old seedlings across the three species but gives neither A. tortilis provenance nor species-specific seedling allocation, so it cannot establish a transferable dose–growth relationship or tolerance limit for this species. The Sudanese seedling-pulse and Tunisian seed-germination studies use different materials, salt systems, and life stages and cannot be combined into a single species threshold.",
              "source_ids": [
                "S1",
                "S2",
                "S3",
                "S4"
              ],
              "claim_type": "project_synthesis"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    "tolerance_evidence": [
      {
        "id": "M01",
        "source_ids": [
          "S1"
        ],
        "description": {
          "evidence_type": "Seedling test with a first-week NaCl pulse followed by freshwater recovery",
          "material": "Two-month-old seedlings identified by the study as A. tortilis subsp. raddiana; provenance Gezira, Sudan",
          "salt_metric": "NaCl",
          "value_and_unit": "0, 150, and 300 mM NaCl during the pulse",
          "medium_and_exposure": "River-sand pots; salt water applied four times on alternate days during the first week, followed by fresh water daily to field capacity for three weeks",
          "life_stage": "Seedlings",
          "duration": "Four weeks total; salt exposure only in week one",
          "endpoint": "Relative growth rates of stem and root, leaf shedding, and water potential",
          "result": "At four weeks, growth-rate data remained available for seedlings receiving the first-week 150 and 300 mM NaCl pulses, but the seedlings had shed leaves early and the authors classified this material as sensitive under their criterion. By the four-week endpoint, all leaves had been shed in both treatments, earlier than in A. nilotica under the same treatments. Freshwater was used for the following three weeks, so the initial pulse concentrations do not represent continuous salt exposure.",
          "limitations": "NaCl was applied only during the first week; freshwater irrigation for the next three weeks diluted the exposure. The result is not a tolerance threshold from continuous, stable root-zone salinity."
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "M02",
        "source_ids": [
          "S2"
        ],
        "description": {
          "evidence_type": "NaCl seed-germination experiment (highest tested concentration: 22 g/L)",
          "material": "Seeds identified in the article as A. tortilis subsp. raddiana var. ‘raddiana’, collected in August 2005 at Bou Hedma National Park, Tunisia.",
          "salt_metric": "NaCl",
          "value_and_unit": "22 g/L NaCl (Table 3)",
          "medium_and_exposure": "Before salinity testing, seeds were soaked in concentrated sulfuric acid for 1 h, washed in distilled water for 15 min, treated with Benlate for 1 h and rinsed; germination took place in perlite-filled Petri dishes in darkness at 25 °C, with daily distilled water containing NaCl.",
          "life_stage": "Seeds",
          "duration": "30 days; germinated seeds in the NaCl experiment were counted daily.",
          "endpoint": "Germination percentage and mean germination time",
          "result": "Table 3 reports 21% germination at 22 g/L NaCl; this is a seed-stage germination result, with the value retained in g/L.",
          "limitations": "The study tested germination of seeds collected at Bou Hedma; this result does not establish subsequent seedling growth, adult performance, or salt tolerance across the species."
        }
      }
    ],
    "database_records": [
      {
        "name_original": "biosalinedb",
        "display_name": "BiosalineDB",
        "record_id": "55",
        "verification_level": "local_original",
        "support_scope": "BiosalineDB record 55 lists Samr/A. tortilis as perennial and “Tolerant,” but leaves the maximum-threshold field blank; listed references include Al-Saidi et al. (2006). Table 1 of the two-page proceeding reports leaf proline and nitrogen under sea-salt irrigation at 0.6, 6, and 12 dS/m; Table 2 gives cumulative germination for each of the three species by salinity and day after treatment. A separate shadehouse trial used 540 one-year-old seedlings across the three species in three replicates (tap-water control, 6, and 12 dS/m). The proceeding gives neither A. tortilis provenance nor a species-specific seedling count, so the pooled shadehouse trial does not establish a transferable dose–growth relationship or quantitative threshold for this species.",
        "source_ids": [
          "S4",
          "S3"
        ]
      },
      {
        "name_original": "floraveg",
        "display_name": "FloraVeg.EU",
        "record_id": "Acacia tortilis exact match",
        "verification_level": "local_original",
        "support_scope": "FloraVeg.EU is a European ecological database outside the main native range of Vachellia tortilis and records no saline/brackish EUNIS association. This regional absence cannot establish global absence of saltland populations.",
        "source_ids": [
          "S7",
          "S8"
        ]
      },
      {
        "name_original": "FAO Ecocrop",
        "display_name": "FAO Ecocrop",
        "record_id": "id=2712",
        "verification_level": "archived_synthesis",
        "support_scope": "The global FAO Ecocrop crop-and-resource profile describes the species as characteristic of dry woodland and as having low soil-salinity tolerance; it provides no natural salt-marsh population or verifiable root-zone measurement. This secondary profile gives distribution and use context, not a salinity experiment or quantitative NaCl tolerance value.",
        "source_ids": [
          "S5"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "sources": [
      {
        "id": "S1",
        "citation_original": "Mehari, Ericsson & Weih. 2005. Effects of NaCl on seedling growth, biomass production and water status of Acacia nilotica and A. tortilis",
        "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2004.11.014",
        "additional_urls": [],
        "source_kind": "primary_experiment",
        "verification_level": "archived_synthesis",
        "checked_at": "2026-09-29"
      },
      {
        "id": "S2",
        "citation_original": "Jaouadi, Hamrouni, Souayeh & Khouja. 2010. Étude de la germination des graines d’Acacia tortilis sous différentes contraintes abiotiques. Biotechnologie, Agronomie, Société et Environnement 14(4):643–652.",
        "url": "https://popups.uliege.be/1780-4507/index.php?file=1&id=17127&pid=6419",
        "additional_urls": [
          "https://popups.uliege.be/1780-4507/index.php?id=6419&lang=en"
        ],
        "source_kind": "primary_experiment",
        "verification_level": "full_text",
        "checked_at": "2026-10-03"
      },
      {
        "id": "S3",
        "citation_original": "Al-Saidi, Esechie & Kawamitsu. 2006. Salt tolerance of Acacia tortilis, Prosopis cineraria and Ziziphus spina-christi. Abstracts of Meeting of the Crop Science Society of Japan 221:218–219. DOI: 10.14829/jcsproc.221.0.218.0.",
        "url": "https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jcsproc/221/0/221_0_218/_pdf",
        "additional_urls": [
          "https://doi.org/10.14829/jcsproc.221.0.218.0"
        ],
        "source_kind": "primary_experiment",
        "verification_level": "full_text",
        "checked_at": "2026-10-04"
      },
      {
        "id": "S4",
        "citation_original": "BiosalineDB record 55, Acacia tortilis/Samr",
        "url": "https://db.cngb.org/biosaline/browser/",
        "additional_urls": [],
        "source_kind": "database",
        "verification_level": "local_original",
        "checked_at": "2026-10-03"
      },
      {
        "id": "S5",
        "citation_original": "FAO Ecocrop species sheet, Acacia tortilis",
        "url": "https://ecocrop.apps.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/dataSheet?id=2712",
        "additional_urls": [],
        "source_kind": "authoritative_database",
        "verification_level": "archived_synthesis",
        "checked_at": "2026-09-29"
      },
      {
        "id": "S6",
        "citation_original": "Plants of the World Online (POWO), Kew Science. Vachellia tortilis (Forssk.) Galasso & Banfi.",
        "url": "https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/77087190-1",
        "additional_urls": [],
        "source_kind": "taxonomic_authority",
        "verification_level": "authority_record",
        "checked_at": "2026-10-02"
      },
      {
        "id": "S7",
        "citation_original": "FloraVeg.EU. Acacia tortilis species overview (exact taxon record).",
        "url": "https://floraveg.eu/taxon/overview/Acacia%20tortilis",
        "additional_urls": [],
        "source_kind": "database",
        "verification_level": "local_original",
        "checked_at": "2026-10-02"
      },
      {
        "id": "S8",
        "citation_original": "FloraVeg.EU / Chytrý et al. (2020), EUNIS-ESy characteristic-species combinations, version 2021-06-01. DOI:10.5281/zenodo.4812736.",
        "url": "https://files.ibot.cas.cz/cevs/downloads/floraveg/Characteristic-species-combinations-EUNIS-habitats-2021-06-01.xlsx",
        "additional_urls": [
          "https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4812736"
        ],
        "source_kind": "database",
        "verification_level": "local_original",
        "checked_at": "2026-10-02"
      }
    ]
  }
}