Blackthorn Acacia
| Blackthorn Acacia | ||||||||||||
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Blackthorn Acacia ( Senegalia mellifera ) |
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| Senegalia mellifera | ||||||||||||
| ( Vahl ) |
The senegalia mellifera ( Senegalia mellifera (Vahl) Seigler & Ebinger, Syn .: Acacia mellifera (Vahl) Benth. ) Is a plant of the genus Senegalia in the subfamily of the mimosa plants (Mimosoideae) within the family of the Leguminosae (Fabaceae). It is common in all dry areas of North and South Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula .
origin of the name
The specific epithet mellifera means something like carrying honey and refers to the sweet smelling flowers . The common names of both the German black thorn and the English black thorn can be traced back to the wood of this species, which turns pitch black when oiled.
description
Acacia mellifera can occur either as a 1 to 7 meter high multi-stemmed shrub with a more or less funnel-shaped crown, or as a small single- stemmed tree with a spreading crown that can reach heights of up to 9 meters. Acacia mellifera can reproduce through seed formation (generative) as well as through stick rash (vegetative) and often forms an impenetrable thicket of several 100 individuals.
use
In the arid regions of Africa , the blackthorn acacia is used as a fence, fodder and building material for huts. In some places the flower nectar is also used as food, but above all the milky sap is used as an emetic and the boiled bark is used against abdominal pain, pneumonia and malaria .
literature
- ME Adams: A study of the ecology of Acacia mellifera, A. seyal and Balanites aegyptica in relation to land clearing. , In: Journal of Applied Ecology , Volume 4, 1967, pp. 221-237.
- K. COATES PALGRAVE, (2002): Trees of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town. ISBN 1868723895
- DA HINES & K. ECKMAN, (1993): Indigenous multipurpose trees of Tanzania: uses and economic benefits for people. Cultural Survival Canada & Development Services Foundation of Tanzania, Ottawa.
- WA KREMNITZ, M. KNIES & M. KREMNITZ, (1988): Kalahari: from the plant kingdom ; floristic and ethnobotanical considerations. Ambro Lacus - book and picture publisher, Andechs-Frieding. ISBN 3921445167
- JH ROSS, (1979): A conspectus of African Acacia species. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa 44. ISBN 0621053090
- N. SMIT, (1999): Guide to the Acacias of South Africa. Briza Publications , Pretoria. ISBN 3804717802
- P. VAN DER WALT & E. LE RICHE, (1999): The Kalahari and its plants . Info Naturae, Pretoria. ISBN 0620234164
Web links
- Entry in the Flora of Pakistan .
- JPM Brenan: Leguminosae , In: Flora Zambesiaca , Volume 3, 1970.
- Acacia mellifera . In: S. Dressler, M. Schmidt, G. Zizka (Eds.): African plants - A Photo Guide. Senckenberg, Frankfurt / Main 2014.