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Vachellia bolei

Vachellia bolei, also known as Leguminosae and Mimosaceae is a possibly extinct coastal stenoendemic legume of southern India. It belogs to an Accacia genus of plants, which vary drastically and are spread across the world.

Ecology

Vachellia bolei has always been a are plant and was only collected for research three times, so it is hard to estimate its role in the ecosystem. However, other species from the Acacia genus serve to enrich the soil, sequester carbon, stabilize dunes and provide habitat to a variety of birds and pollinator insects. The plants’ nutritious pods are eaten by humans and cattle, while the bark, flowers and other parts have been tapped for their medicinal uses.

Extinction reasons

In South India there is an industry of sand mining, which is highly tied with illegal ways of obtaining resources. So called, "sand mafia", is believed to have caused the extinction of Vachellia bolei by altering its areal of habbitat without any care or delicacy. “We strongly believe that sand mining, illegal felling of trees and conversion of coastal sand dunes for cultivation might be the major reasons for the possible extinction of Vachellia bolei,” write the researchers, K. Sampath Kumar, K. Kathiresan and S. Arumugam. Although this seems to be the main cause of extinction, there are many other at play as human systems damage the biodiversity of the region in a broad variety of ways.

Other factors include coral mining, which shrank the land of nearby islands. Also, unsurprisingly, the general effects of air, water and soil polution must be taken into account. Around 2,000 other plant species in the area are facing the risk of extinction, due to all the very same factors.