Senegalia polyacantha

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Senegalia polyacantha
Acacia polyacantha, habitus, Walter Sisulu NBT.jpg
Acacia polycantha.png
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Senegalia
Species:
S. polyacantha
Binomial name
Senegalia polyacantha
(Willd.) Seigler & Ebinger
Subspecies
Synonyms [1]
  • Acacia catechusensu Griseb.
  • Acacia catechuauct. non L.
  • Acacia polyacanthaWilld.
  • Acacia suma(Roxb.) Voigt
  • Gagnebina tamariscinasensu Bojer
  • Mimosa sumaRoxb.
  • Senegalia suma(Roxb.) Britton & Rose

Senegalia polyacantha, also known as white thorn, is a flowering tree which can grow up to 25m tall. Polyacantha has the meaning "many thorns" in Latin. [2] The tree is native to Africa, India, the Indian Ocean and Asia, but it has also been introduced to the Caribbean. [1]

Contents

Uses

Repellent uses

The root of Senegalia polyacantha subsp. campylacantha emits chemical compounds that repel animals including rats, snakes and crocodiles. [2]

Gum

The tree's gum is used in the manufacture of candy. [2]

Medicinal purposes

Senegalia polycantha's roots and perhaps its bark have medicinal uses. The root extract is useful for snakebites [2] and is applied to wash the skin of children who are agitated at night time. [2] The root is also used for treating gonorrhea, [3] venereal diseases, [4] dysentery [4] and gastrointestinal disorders. [4]

Tannin

The bark is useful for tanning. [2]

Wood

The tree's primary use is for wood. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Acacia sensu lato</i> Genus of legumes

Acacia s.l., known commonly as mimosa, acacia, thorntree or wattle, is a polyphyletic genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. It was described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773 based on the African species Acacia nilotica. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not. All species are pod-bearing, with sap and leaves often bearing large amounts of tannins and condensed tannins that historically found use as pharmaceuticals and preservatives.

<i>Senegalia senegal</i> Species of deciduous tree

Senegalia senegal is a small thorny deciduous tree from the genus Senegalia, which is known by several common names, including gum acacia, gum arabic tree, Sudan gum and Sudan gum arabic. In parts of India, it is known as Kher or Khor. It is native to semi-desert regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Oman, Pakistan, and west coastal India. It grows to a height of 5–12 metres (16-40'), with a trunk up to 30 cm (1') in diameter. Sudan is the source of the world's highest quality gum arabic, known locally as hashab gum in contrast to the related, but inferior, gum arabic from Red acacia or talah gum.

<i>Vachellia tortilis</i> Species of plant

Vachellia tortilis, widely known as Acacia tortilis but now attributed to the genus Vachellia, is the umbrella thorn acacia, also known as umbrella thorn and Israeli babool, a medium to large canopied tree native to most of Africa, primarily to the savanna and Sahel of Africa, but also occurring in the Middle East.

<i>Vachellia erioloba</i> Species of tree native to southern Africa

Vachellia erioloba, the camel thorn, giraffe thorn, or Kameeldoring in Afrikaans, still more commonly known as Acacia erioloba, is a tree of southern Africa in the family Fabaceae. Its preferred habitat is the deep dry sandy soils in parts of South Africa, Botswana, the western areas of Zimbabwe and Namibia. It is also native to Angola, south-west Mozambique, Zambia and Eswatini. The tree was first described by Ernst Heinrich Friedrich Meyer and Johann Franz Drège in 1836. The camel thorn is a protected tree in South Africa.

<i>Vachellia nilotica</i> Species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae

Vachellia nilotica, more commonly known as Acacia nilotica, and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, babul, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. It is also considered a 'weed of national significance' and an invasive species of concern in Australia, as well as a noxious weed by the federal government of the United States.

<i>Vachellia horrida</i> Species of legume

Vachellia horrida is a low spreading shrub or sometimes tree native to both the wet and dry scrublands of tropical to subtropical East Africa. Common names for it are Cape gum, Karroo Thorn and dev-babul. It is also found elsewhere in Africa, Asia, India and South America. It frequently has stipular spines 9.5 cm long. V. horrida is an important browse plant in the tropics, particularly during the dry season.

<i>Vachellia karroo</i> Species of legume

Vachellia karroo, commonly known as the sweet thorn, common acacia, Karoo thorn, Cape gum or cockspur thorn, is a species of Vachellia, native to southern Africa from southern Angola east to Mozambique, and south to South Africa.

<i>Senegalia laeta</i> Species of plant

Senegalia laeta, the gay acacia or daga, is a legume found in the family Fabaceae. It was formerly included in the genus Acacia.

<i>Vachellia sieberiana</i> Species of legume

Vachellia sieberiana, until recently known as Acacia sieberiana and commonly known as the paperbark thorn or paperbark acacia, is a tree native to southern Africa and introduced into Pakistan. It is used in many areas for various purposes. The tree varies from 3 to 25 m in height, with a trunk diameter of 0.6 to 1.8 m. It is not listed as being a threatened species.

<i>Senegalia mellifera</i> Species of legume

Senegalia mellifera is a common thorn tree in Africa. The name mellifera refers to its sweet-smelling blossoms and honey. Its lumber turns pitch black when oiled. Common names of the tree include Blackthorn and Swarthaak (Afrikaans). It is listed as being not threatened.

Vachellia nilotica subsp. indica is a perennial tree native to Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. It is also cultivated in Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. Common names for it include babul, kikar and prickly acacia.

<i>Vachellia nilotica <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> kraussiana</i> Subspecies of legume

Vachellia nilotica subsp. kraussiana is a perennial tree native to Africa. All examples in southern Africa can be assigned to this race.

Vachellia nilotica subsp. nilotica is a perennial tree native to Africa. It has also been introduced to the Indian Ocean area and to the Middle East.

<i>Senegalia polyacantha <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> campylacantha</i> Subspecies of legume

Senegalia polyacantha subsp. campylacantha is a perennial tree native to Africa. Common names for it are whitethorn and witdoring. It is not listed as being a threatened species. Its uses include wood and medicine.

<i>Vachellia</i> Genus of legumes

Vachellia is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae, commonly known as thorn trees or acacias. It belongs to the subfamily Mimosoideae. Its species were considered members of genus Acacia until 2009. Vachellia can be distinguished from other acacias by its capitate inflorescences and spinescent stipules. Before discovery of the New World, Europeans in the Mediterranean region were familiar with several species of Vachellia, which they knew as sources of medicine, and had names for them that they inherited from the Greeks and Romans.

<i>Vachellia reficiens</i> Species of legume

Vachellia reficiens, commonly known as red-bark acacia, red thorn, false umbrella tree, or false umbrella thorn, is a deciduous tree or shrub of the pea family (Fabaceae) native to southern Africa, often growing in an upside-down cone shape and with a relatively flat crown.

<i>Senegalia ataxacantha</i> Species of legume

Senegalia ataxacantha, commonly known as the flame thorn, is an African tree species with conspicuous red pods and numerous hooked prickles.

<i>Senegalia caffra</i> Species of legume

Senegalia caffra, also known as hook-thorn or Acacia caffra, is a tree that occurs commonly in southern Africa. Though it is cultivated, it often occurs naturally in Gauteng suburban gardens, together with Acacia karroo and Acacia robusta.

<i>Senegalia nigrescens</i> Species of legume

Senegalia nigrescens, the knobthorn, is a deciduous African tree, growing up to 18 m tall, that is found in savanna regions from West Africa to South Africa. The tree is resistant to drought, not resistant to frost and its hard wood is resistant to termites.

<i>Senegalia modesta</i> Species of legume

Senegalia modesta is a species of plant commonly found in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. S. modesta is a perennial tree and formerly, it was classified as Acacia modesta. The plant is drought tolerant. S. modesta`s tree grow in medium size deciduous form with rough surfaced, brown or greenish grey bark, leaflets as, cream colored inflorescence in the form of pedunculate spike, pods as stipitate having 3-5 seeds inside.

References

  1. 1 2 ILDIS LegumeWeb(ILDIS)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 PlantZAfrica.com
  3. van der Maesen, L. J. G.; van der Burgt, X. M.; van Medenbach de Rooy, J. M. (1996). The Biodiversity of African Plants. Springer Science+Business Media. p. 254. ISBN   0792340957 . Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 Uhlig, Siegbert (2003). Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: A-C. Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 66. ISBN   3447047461 . Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  5. Speedy, Andrew. "Acacia polyacantha". www.fao.org. Retrieved 3 August 2017.