Acacia nilotica

Acacia nilotica (gum arabic tree, babul, Egyptian thorn, or prickly acacia; called thorn mimosa in Australia; lekkerruikpeul or scented thorn in South Africa) is a species of Acacia (wattle) native to Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

It is also currently an invasive species of significant concern in Australia. For the ongoing reclassification of this and other species historically classified under genus Acacia, see the list of Acacia species.

Acacia 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 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.

Scented Thorn Acacia is native from Egypt south to Mozambique and Natal through to Pakistan, India and Burma. It has become widely naturalised outside its native range including Zanzibar, and Australia.

Acacia nilotica is restricted to riverine habitats and seasonally flooded areas within its native range however in its introduced range it is spread by livestock and grows outside riparian areas .




Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_nilotica



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