''Senegalia laeta'', the gay acacia or daga, is a

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

found in the family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

. It was formerly included in the genus ''Acacia''.

Description

''Senegalia laeta'' is a perennial shrub or small tree growing to a height of 4–10 m with a greyish-green bark looking blackish from a distance, with a pink slash. The leaves are twice-pinnate, i.e. the pinnate leaves are further divided pinnately, the leaflets are 1–4 cm long, with 2-5 pairs of pinnae and 2-5 pairs of leaflets per pinna; leaflets are oblong and asymmetrical, measuring 6-1.2 x 0.3-0.5 cm, greyish green and almost hairless. These leaves distinguish ''Senegalia laeta'' from the related

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

species such as ''

Senegalia dudgeoni ''Senegalia'' (from Senegal and ''Acacia senegal'' (L.) Willd.) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the Mimosoid clade. Until 2005, its species were considered members of ''Acacia.'' The genus was considered p ...

'', ''

Senegalia senegal ''Senegalia senegal'' (also known as ''Acacia 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 In ...

'', ''

Senegalia gourmaensis ''Senegalia'' (from Senegal and ''Acacia senegal'' (L.) Willd.) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the Mimosoid clade. Until 2005, its species were considered members of ''Acacia.'' The genus was considered pol ...

'' and ''

Senegalia mellifera ''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). I ...

'' by its leaves. The thorns are paired and consist of recurved axillary prickles, with an occasional a third prickle recurved forward, if the third thorn is absent it is normally replaced with a leaf. The flowers are creamy white and very fragrant, with three flowers set on a stalk with multiple stalks growing on a spike. The pale brown leathery pods are pointed, whereas those of ''Seneglia senegal'' are not and this character is an easy feature to distinguish these ''Senegalia laeta'' from that species.Heuzé V., Thiollet H., Tran G., Lebas F., 2018. Black-hooked acacia (Senegalia laeta). Feedipedia, a programme by INRA, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO. https://www.feedipedia.org/node/348 Last updated on February 12, 2018, 11:44

Distribution

''Senegalia laeta'' is native to Africa, including the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

as far south as Tanzania, the Middle East, and Western Asia.

Uses

Parts of the tree are used for dyestuff. The tree is used 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 g ...

; the foliage and seed pods make good forage for livestock and the tree stands up well to this use. It produces an edible gum which is used to make gum arabic but is not as good quality as the gum Arabic extracted from ''Senegalia senegal''. It is harvested at the end of the rainy season when the gum is exuded from the bark and branches and collected by scraping, the bark is sometimes cut to increase production. Other uses to which ''Senegalia laeta'' is put are as fuel-wood and charcoal, browse for domestic animals, dead fencing for bomas, poles, fence-posts. The bark from the trunk is used for making ropes and repairing calabashes, and in medicine it is considered to have analgesic properties. It is also used to soften hides before tanning. It is drought tolerant and has been successfully planted in reafforestation programmes.

Taxonomy

Formerly included in the genus ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

'' it has now been reassigned with many African species of acacia to the genus ''

Senegalia ''Senegalia'' (from Senegal and ''Acacia senegal'' (L.) Willd.) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the Mimosoid clade. Until 2005, its species were considered members of ''Acacia.'' The genus was considered polyp ...

''. The specific name ''laeta'' is the feminine of ''laetus'' and means "joyful, cheerful, happy" in Latin.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28936635

laeta Laeta was the second Empress consort of Gratian of the Western Roman Empire. Family The only relation of Laeta mentioned by Zosimus was her mother Pissamena.Zosimus, "''Historia Nova'', Book five, 1814 translation by Green and Chaplin Empress ...

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