Karoo/Karroo? (Vachellia Karroo)

Vachellia karroo (Sweet Thorn / Karroo Thorn)

Early European botanists used “Karroo,” and once a scientific name is published, it is largely fixed under botanical nomenclature. It rarely changes—only when new research reveals a clear scientific error.

 Now, about “Karoo” vs “Karroo”:

• “Karoo” (single “r”) is the modern, standardized spelling for the region — e.g. the Great Karoo or Karoo National Park.

• “Karroo” (double “r”) reflects older Dutch/Afrikaans-influenced transliterations used by early European writers, especially in the 18th–19th centuries.

Early botanists often Latinized or recorded names based on what they heard or saw in colonial texts, so “karroo” got embedded in species names. When the species was first described (originally as Acacia karroo), that spelling became permanently tied to it, even after the genus changed to Vachellia.

Also, the naming after the specific region..? There are equally similar patterns of prevalence of these trees in most of the Southern African regions/countries. The answer may simple be that, thus where the early botanist first witnessed the prevalence and also, maybe it had more punch to prefer/associate it with the region of significance, where the native southern Africans were present, the indigenous Khoi Khoi and/ the Khoisan.

Vachellia karroo (Sweet Thorn / Karroo Thorn)