Vachellia tortilis

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vachellia tortilis
Vachellia tortilis

Vachellia tortilis

Systematics
Order : Fabales (Fabales)
Family : Legumes (Fabaceae)
Subfamily : Mimosa family (Mimosoideae)
Tribe : Acacieae
Genre : Vachellia
Type : Vachellia tortilis
Scientific name
Vachellia tortilis
( Forssk. ) Galasso & Banfi

Vachellia tortilis (Syn .: Acacia tortilis ( Forssk. ) Hayne , Mimosa tortilis Forssk. ), Is like many other species of this subfamily known as acacia, a plant from the genus Vachellia in the subfamily of Mimosa Family (Mimosoideae) within the family of legumes (Fabaceae). It iswidespreadin Africa and can be called an African landmark.

description

Seeds

Vachellia tortilis usually grows as an evergreen , fast-growing and drought-resistant tree up to about 20 meters high and in the form of an umbrella acacia. It is easily recognizable by its mostly umbrella-like, flat, wide treetop . In very hot and dry areas it may only form wiry, small shrubs. The twigs have small stipules and long other thorns . The tree leads a rubber .

The alternate leaves arranged on the branches are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The approximately 2–4 centimeters long leaf blade is bipinnate and often covered with glands on the rachis. The up to ten first-order leaflets each have up to 15-18 pairs of very small, more or less hairy leaflets .

The small, strongly scented, white flowers stand in small, dense and axillary, stalked heads . The flat, hairy to bald, usually non-opening legumes are usually twisted in a spiral. The smooth, flat and dark brown, elliptical to rounded seeds with a pleurogram are 4–7 millimeters in size.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 52, 78 or 104.

Systematics

It was first published in 1775 under the name (Basionym) Mimosa tortilis Forssk. by Peter Forsskål in Flora Aegyptiaco-Arabica , p. 176. The new combination to Vachellia tortilis (Forssk.) Galasso & Banfi was created in 2008 by Gabriele Galasso and Enrico Banfi in Atti della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano , 149, 1, p. 150 published.

There are several subspecies of the species Vachellia tortilis :

  • Vachellia tortilis (Forssk.) Galasso & Banfi subsp. tortuosa ined.
  • Vachellia tortilis subsp. campoptila (Schweinf.) Ragup., Seigler, Ebinger & Maslin
  • Vachellia tortilis subsp. raddiana (Savi) Kyal. & Boatwr.
  • Vachellia tortilis subsp. spirocarpa (Hochst. ex A.Rich.) Kyal. & Boatwr.
  • Vachellia tortilis subsp. heteracantha (Burch.) Kyal. & Boatwr.
  • Vachellia tortilis subsp. tortilis .
Distribution map

distribution

Vachellia tortilis is widespread in the savannahs of Africa , especially in Sudan , but also in the Middle East . Vachellia tortilis grows on sandy and stony soils ; also on steep slopes and on strongly alkaline soils. Vachellia tortilis tolerates drought, high temperatures and sand storms.

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Low frost resistance was found in plants older than two years.

ecology

The leaves and flowers of Vachellia tortilis are a source of food for numerous animals. The growth and shape of the plant are influenced by eating. Vachellia tortilis “warn” their conspecifics about predators with the help of the messenger substance ethene . As a result, both the warning tree and the warned trees begin to produce tannins within a radius of about 50 meters . The more often the acacias are eaten or warned, the higher the tannin content of the leaves and thus the more poisonous the leaves. Animals that feed on the Vachellia tortilis instinctively and steadily move from specimen to specimen against the wind.

The trunk of Vachellia tortilis is very often eaten by termites and beetle larvae . Therefore, elephants can easily knock it over to get hold of branches.

The legumes are eaten by many animals of the savannah because of their protein-rich shell. Although many seeds are destroyed by chewing and digestive juices, they are more likely to create a new tree than seed pods that are not eaten. A few hours after the trees have shed the pods, small beetles come and lay their eggs on them. Many small larvae hatch from this and feed on the seeds, thereby destroying them. However, if the seeds are eaten by large animals and if they survive their digestive tract, they are then free of insects.

use

The wood of the entire tree is used as firewood, the leaves and pods have high fodder value and are used as animal feed. For this purpose, the trees are planted as wind protection, to fix sand dunes, to protect against soil erosion, to provide shade and as a pasture for bees. The wood is also used to a lesser extent for supports for fence posts and tool handles, but it warps a lot when dry and is often attacked by wood-boring insects. Traditionally, cords and ropes are made from the bark and various parts of the plant are used as medicine.

The bark is used as a tanning agent. The gum juice is edible and can be used like gum arabic from the Verek acacia ( Senegalia senegal ) and Seyal acacia ( Vachellia seyal ). Many parts of Vachellia tortilis plants , including roots, twigs, and legumes , are often used by locals for a variety of purposes. This includes weapons, tools, and medicine.

The fruits and the young seeds are edible.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Acacia tortilis at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
  2. ↑ Ulrich Kohler: Acadia tortilis In: Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Roloff, Stimm (Ed.): Trees of the Tropics , licensed edition for Nikol Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-86820-231-1 .

Web links

Commons : Vachellia tortilis  - album with pictures, videos and audio files