Vachellia nilotica

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Vachellia nilotica
Babool (Acacia nilotica) flowers at Hodal W IMG 1163.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Vachellia
Species:
V. nilotica
Binomial name
Vachellia nilotica
(L.) P.J.H.Hurter & Mabb. [1]
Subspecies
Acacia-nilotica-range-map.png
Range of Vachellia nilotica
Synonyms [4]
  • Acacia arabica(Lam.) Willd.
  • Acacia nilotica(L.) Willd. ex Delile
  • Acacia scorpioides(L.) W.Wight
  • Mimosa arabicaLam.
  • Mimosa niloticaL.
  • Mimosa scorpioidesL.

Vachellia nilotica, more commonly known as Acacia nilotica, and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, [5] babul, [6] kikar, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, [7] 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. [8]

Contents

Taxonomy

This species of tree is the type species of the Linnaean genus Acacia , which derives its name from Ancient Greek : ἀκακία, akakía, the name given by early Greek botanist-physician Pedanius Dioscorides (ca. 40–90) to this tree as a medicinal, in his book Materia Medica . [9] The genus Acacia was long known not to be taxonomically monophyletic, and despite being the type species of that genus, A. nilotica has since been moved to the genus Vachellia , with the genus name Acacia being reserved for Australian species; the principle of priority, which would normally prevent such a taxonomic change, was waived with a majority vote by the International Botanical Congress in 2005. The renaming of the traditional Acacia to Vachellia remains controversial, especially in Africa, where V. nilotica is an iconic species and is widely referred to as the acacia. [10] For the new classification of this and other species historically classified under genus Acacia, see Acacia .

The genus name Acacia derives from Ancient Greek : ἀκακία, which may come from the Ancient Greek word for its characteristic thorns, ἄκις, ákis, "thorn", [11] or may have been borrowed from Pre-Greek. [12] The specific epithet nilotica was probably given by Linnaeus from this tree's originally known range along the Nile river.[ citation needed ] In Australia the tree is known as a prickly acacia, [13] despite usurping Dioscorides' two millennia-old etymology, the Australian species classified as Acacia in Australia do not have thorns.

Description

Spring blossoms at Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India Babool (Acacia nilotica) flowers at Hodal W IMG 1248.jpg
Spring blossoms at Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India

Acacia nilotica or Vachellia nilotica is a tree 5–20 m high with a dense spheric crown, stems and branches usually dark to black coloured, fissured bark, grey-pinkish slash, exuding a reddish low quality gum. The tree has thin, straight, light, grey spines in axillary pairs, usually in 3 to 12 pairs, 5 to 7.5 cm (3 in) long in young trees, mature trees commonly without thorns. The leaves are bipinnate, with 3–6 pairs of pinnulae and 10–30 pairs of leaflets each, tomentose, rachis with a gland at the bottom of the last pair of pinnulae. Flowers in globulous heads 1.2–1.5 cm in diameter of a bright golden-yellow color, set up either axillary or whorly on peduncles 2–3 cm long located at the end of the branches. Pods are strongly constricted, hairy, white-grey, thick and softly tomentose. Its seeds number approximately 8000/kg. [14]

Distribution

Acacia nilotica or Vachellia nilotica is native from Egypt, across the Maghreb and Sahel, south to Mozambique and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and east through the Arabian Peninsula to the Indian subcontinent and Burma. It has become widely naturalised outside its native range including Zanzibar and Australia. [15] It is spread by livestock. [13]

Uses

Seed pods Acacia nilotica, peule, a, Uniegeboutuine.jpg
Seed pods
Gum arabic exuding Gum Arabic exuding.jpg
Gum arabic exuding
Trunk at Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India Babool (Acacia nilotica) trunk at Hodal W IMG 1252.jpg
Trunk at Hodal in Faridabad District of Haryana, India

Forage and fodder

In part of its range smallstock consume the pods and leaves, [16] but elsewhere it is also very popular with cattle. Pods are used as a supplement to poultry rations in India. Dried pods are particularly sought out by animals on rangelands. In India branches are commonly lopped for fodder. In West Africa, the pods and leaves are considered to have anthelminthic properties on small ruminants and this has been confirmed by in vitro experiments on nematodes. [16] In Kano of Nigeria, acacia pods have traditionally been used to dye leather a reddish-tinge. [17]

Tooth brushing

The tender twig of this plant is used as a toothbrush in south-east Africa and the Indian subcontinent. [18]  

Gum arabic

The exudate gum of this tree is known as gum arabic and has been collected from the pharaonic times for the manufacture of medicines, dyes and paints. In the present commercial market, gum arabic is defined as the dried exudate from the trunks and branches of Senegalia (Acacia) senegal or Vachellia (Acacia) seyal in the family Leguminosae (Fabaceae). [19] : 4  The gum of A. nilotica is also referred to in India as Amaravati gum. [20]

Lumber

The tree's wood is "very durable if water-seasoned" and its uses include tool handles and lumber for boats. [21] The wood has a density of about 833 kg/m3. [2]

Food and medicine

In India it's used as an ingredient in various dishes.

The Maasai people eat both the inner bark (phloem) and the fruit pulp boiled in water. They also use this plant medicinally to treat sore throat, cough, chest pains etc. [22]

In Northern Nigeria it is called bagaruwa in Hausa. Medicinal uses include soaking the tender bark in water to be taken against dysentery and pile. The fruits are ground together with the seeds and taken with honey as treatment against stomach ulcers.

Phytochemistry

Two new[ clarification needed ] antiprotozoal diterpenes have been isolated from the root bark of Acacia nilotica. [23]

Propagation

There are 5000–16000 seeds/kg. [24]

See also

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 greggii</i> Species of tree

Senegalia greggii, formerly known as Acacia greggii, is a species of tree in the genus Senegalia native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, from the extreme south of Utah south through southern Nevada, southeast California, Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas to Baja California, Sinaloa and Nuevo León in Mexico. The population in Utah at 37°10' N is the northernmost naturally occurring Senegalia species anywhere in the world.

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

Vachellia farnesiana, also known as Acacia farnesiana, and previously Mimosa farnesiana, commonly known as sweet acacia, huisache, or needle bush, is a species of shrub or small tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. Its flowers are used in the perfume industry.

<i>Acacia</i> Genus of plants

Acacia, commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about 1,084 species of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America and Australasia, but is now reserved for species mainly from Australia, with others from New Guinea, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. The genus name is Neo-Latin, borrowed from the Greek ἀκακία, a term used in antiquity to describe a preparation extracted from Vachellia nilotica, the original type species.

<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, also known as the giraffe thorn, mokala tree, 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>Senegalia rugata</i> Species of plant in the Fabaceae family

Senegalia rugata is a spiny climbing shrub native to China and tropical Asia, common in the warm plains of central and south India. It is renowned as a raw material for shampoo, and the leaves and young shoots are often eaten. Archaeobotanical evidence shows its use for hair care in the pre-Harrapan levels of Banawali, some 4500–4300 years ago.

<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, in the Mimosa sub-family (Mimosoideae) of the Fabaceae or pea family, which is 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 seyal</i> Species of plant

Vachellia seyal, the red acacia, known also as the shittah tree, is a thorny, 6– to 10-m-high tree with a pale greenish or reddish bark. At the base of the 3–10 cm (1.2–3.9 in) feathery leaves, two straight, light grey thorns grow to 7–20 cm (2.8–7.9 in) long. The blossoms are displayed in round, bright yellow clusters about 1.5 cm (0.59 in) diameter.

<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.

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.

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.

Vachellia nilotica subsp. tomentosa is a perennial tree native to Africa, Asia and India.

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

Vachellia xanthophloea is a tree in the family Fabaceae, commonly known in English as the fever tree. This species of Vachellia is native to eastern and southern Africa. It has also become a landscape tree in other warm climates, outside of its natural range.

<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 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.

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

Vachellia abyssinica, the flat top acacia, is a tree up to 16 m tall.

References

  1. ↑ Kyalangalilwa B, Boatwright JS, Daru BH, Maurin O, van der Bank M (2013). "Phylogenetic position and revised classification of Acacia s.l. (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in Africa, including new combinations in Vachellia and Senegalia". Bot J Linn Soc. 172 (4): 500–523. doi: 10.1111/boj.12047 . hdl: 10566/3454 .
  2. 1 2 Wickens, G.E. (1995). "Table 2.1.2 The timber properties of Acacia species and their uses". Role of Acacia species in the rural economy of dry Africa and the Near East. FAO Conservation Guide. Vol. 27. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN   978-92-5-103651-8.
  3. ↑ "Acacia nilotica". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  4. ↑ "Acacia nilotica". LegumeWeb. International Legume Database & Information Service.
  5. ↑ "Acacia nilotica". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  6. ↑ "Definition of BABUL". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  7. ↑ "Vachellia nilotica". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  8. ↑ Federal Noxious Weed List} web (PDF)
  9. ↑ "Acacia nilotica (acacia)". Plants & Fungi. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Archived from the original on 12 January 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  10. ↑ Kull, Christian A.; Rangan, Haripriya (2012), HABERLE, SIMON G.; DAVID, BRUNO (eds.), "Science, sentiment and territorial chauvinism in the acacia name change debate", Peopled Landscapes, Archaeological and Biogeographic Approaches to Landscapes, vol. 34, ANU Press, pp. 197–220, ISBN   978-1-921862-71-7, JSTOR   j.ctt24h85b.11 , retrieved 2022-04-12
  11. ↑ Quattrocchi, Umberto (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. Vol. 1 A-C. CRC Press. p. 6. ISBN   978-0-8493-2675-2.
  12. ↑ Beekes, Robert (2010). "ἀκακία". Etymological Dictionary of Greek. Brill. p. 46.
  13. 1 2 Prickly acacia – Acacia nilotica (PDF). Weeds of National Significance. 2003. ISBN   978-1-920932-14-5.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  14. ↑ "handbook on seeds of dry-zone acacias". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  15. ↑ Kriticos, Darren; Brown, Joel; Radford, Ian; Nicholas, Mike (1999-10-01). "Plant Population Ecology and Biological Control: Acacia nilotica as a Case Study". Biological Control. 16 (2): 230–239. Bibcode:1999BiolC..16..230K. doi:10.1006/bcon.1999.0746. ISSN   1049-9644.
  16. 1 2 Zabré, Geneviève; Kaboré, Adama; Bayala, Balé; Katiki, Luciana M.; Costa-Júnior, Lívio Martins; Tamboura, Hamidou H.; Belem, Adrien M.G.; Abdalla, Adibe L.; Niderkorn, Vincent; Hoste, Hervé; Louvandini, Helder (2017). "Comparison of the in vitro anthelmintic effects of Acacia nilotica and Acacia raddiana". Parasite. 24: 44. doi:10.1051/parasite/2017044. PMC   5703060 . PMID   29173278. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  17. ↑ Dalziel, J.M. (1926). "African Leather Dyes". Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information. 6 (6). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: 225–238. doi:10.2307/4118651. JSTOR   4118651.
  18. ↑ Saurabh Rajvaidhya et al. (2012) "A review on Acacia Arabica, an Indian medicinal plant" International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research Vol 3(7) pp 1995-2005
  19. ↑ "Production and marketing of gum arabic" (PDF). Nairobi, Kenya: Network for Natural Gums and Resins in Africa (NGARA). 2004.
  20. ↑ "Acacia nilotica (gum arabic tree)". Invasive species compendium. Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  21. ↑ Mueller, Ferdinand (1884). "Acacia longifolia, Willdenow". Select extra-tropical plants readily eligible for industrial culture or naturalization. G.S. Davis. p. 7.
  22. ↑ Ruffo, Christopher K.; Birnie, Ann; Tengnäs, Bo (2002). Edible wild plants of Tanzania. Regional Land Management Unit/Sida. ISBN   9966-896-62-7.
  23. ↑ Anyam, John V.; Daikwo, Priscilla E.; Ungogo, Marzuq A.; Nweze, Nwakaego E.; Igoli, Ngozichukwuka P.; Gray, Alexander I.; De Koning, Harry P.; Igoli, John O. (2021). "Two New Antiprotozoal Diterpenes From the Roots of Acacia nilotica''". Frontiers in Chemistry. 9: 624741. Bibcode:2021FrCh....9...76A. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2021.624741 . PMC   8097170 . PMID   33968894.
  24. ↑ "Vachellia nilotica (as Acacia nilotica)". Tropical Forages.
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