''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 Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

. It is native to Africa, the Middle East and the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. It is also considered a ' weed of national significance' and an

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

of concern in Australia, as well as a

noxious weed A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is harmful to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or lives ...

by the federal government of the United States.

Taxonomy

This species of tree is the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of the Linnaean genus ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about 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 Austral ...

'', which derives its name from Greek , ', the name given by early Greek botanist-physician Pedanius Dioscorides to this tree as a medicinal, in his book '' Materia Medica''. 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 ''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'' ...

'', with the genus name ''

'' 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". For the new classification of this and other species historically classified under genus ''Acacia'', see ''

''. The genus name ''Acacia'' derives from , which may come from the ancient Greek word , ', "thorn", for its characteristic thorns, or may have been borrowed from a pre-Greek language. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''nilotica'' was probably given by Linnaeus from the tree's originally known range along the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

river. In Australia the tree is known as a prickly acacia, despite usurping Dioscorides' two millennia-old etymology, the Australian species classified as ''Acacia'' in Australia do not have thorns.

Description

''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 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.

Distribution

''Acacia nilotica'' or ''Vachellia nilotica'' is native from

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, across the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

and Sahel, south to

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

and

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

, South Africa, and east through the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

to the

and

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. It has become widely naturalised outside its native range including

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

and Australia. It is spread by livestock.

Uses

Forage and fodder

In part of its range, smallstock consume the pods and leaves, but elsewhere it is also very popular with cattle. In South Africa, milling of twigs and branches is applied to produce animal fodder. The milling helps to reduce the dispersal of seeds through the animals, which otherwise would contribute to further woody plant encroachment in the region. 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 Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food ...

. 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

nematode The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitic. Parasitic worms (h ...

s. In Kano of

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, acacia pods have traditionally been used to dye leather a reddish-tinge.

Tooth brushing

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

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). The gum of ''A. nilotica'' is also referred to in India as ''Amaravati gum''.

Lumber

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

Food and medicine

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

Maasai people The Maasai (;) are a Nilotic peoples, Nilotic ethnic group inhabiting northern, central and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania, near the African Great Lakes region.

eat both the inner bark (

phloem Phloem (, ) is the living tissue in vascular plants that transports the soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis and known as ''photosynthates'', in particular the sugar sucrose, to the rest of the plant. This transport process is ...

) and the fruit pulp boiled in water. The East african tribes living on the savanna use this plant medicinally to treat sore throat, cough, chest pains etc. 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 antiprotozoal diterpenes have been isolated from the root bark of ''Acacia nilotica.''

Propagation

There are 5000–16000 seeds/kg.

Gallery

File:Vachellia nilotica, Village Behlolpur, Punjab, India.JPG, Vachellia nilotica, Village Behlolpur,

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, India File:Vachellia nilotica, at village Chaparr Chirri, Mohali, Punjab, India.JPG, village Chaparr Chirri, Mohali,

, India File:Acacia-nilotica.jpg, Compound leaf, seed, flower and seed pod

References

External links

* *
''Vachellia nilotica'' (as ''Acacia nilotica'') (www.frienvis.nic.in)
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15525126, from2=Q1621617 nilotica Drought-tolerant trees Forages Flora of Western Asia Flora of the Arabian Peninsula Trees of the Indian subcontinent Trees of Africa Trees of Azerbaijan Trees of Myanmar Flora naturalised in Australia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Plant dyes