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Leguminosae-mim Acacia nilotica ssp. (L.) Willd. ex Del. adstringens (Schumach. & Thonn.) Roberty

| | © Rosemary Wise

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Species information

Interest
Occasionally used for firewood and good quality charcoal in the Sahelian regions, and a preferred firewood in Tanzania. It has a hard heavy heartwood, with a density of 0.945 and a sapwood with a density of 0.827, it is resistent to water and termites. Used in construction work, boat building, fencing, tool handles and art objects to name but a few. Foliage and pods are browsed by camels, horses, sheep and goats. Source of gum and tannin, the bark and pods used for tanning leather, preferred by shoemakers in the Sahelian regions and as a dye source. The gum is locally used for making ink in schools. Planted as a shade tree in the Sahelian regions. In Burkina Faso the leaves are used against diarrhoea, the grilled and crushed seeds for treatment of haemorrhoids and gingivitis, and the powdered bark as a local aemostatic. A decoction of the pods is used for coughs, and swallowing the juice form chewed pods allieviates the rawness of a dry cough. The flowers are a source of pollen and nectar for bees (Wickens et al. 1995).

Other Notes
Common names: Chad: Garat (Arabic), Gor (Goran); Ghana: Bagaruwa (Hausa); Guinea Bissau: Bano (Mandinga), Gaude (Futa-fule); Libya: Garrad (Arabic); Nigeria: Bagaruwa (Hausa); Senegal: Neb neb (Wolof). Species characteristics: Very widespread species in Africa and also streaching to the Indian subcontinent and Shri Lanka, it is divided into nine subspecies. Single stemmed, deciduous or evergreen tree, usually 2.5-15 m tall, but reaching 25 m or more in the riverine subspecies, with a flattened spreading or rounded crown. Root system deep and extensive in dry sites, the taproot developing first and then the laterals, which become compact and massive, but in flooded sites the root system is largely lateral. It has paired stipular spines at the nodes that usually are characteristically deflexed (distinguishing character from many other African Acacia species). Acacia nilotica in Africa exhibits two very distinct ecological preferences: the subspecies subalata, leiocarpa and adstringens occur in wooded grassland, savanna and dry scrub forests on deep sandy loamy soils, and also on lateritic and calcareous sites. Subsp. kraussiana also prefers dry grasslands and savannas, especially on compacted sandy loam, shallow granite or clay soils along drainage lines and rivers, but away from flooding. On the other hand, subspecies nilotica and tomentosa are restricted to riverine habitats and seasonally flooded areas on clay alluvial soils. In the Indian subcontinent, subsp. indica forms low altitude dry forests usually on alluvium soils subject to flooding or black cotton soils. Now widely planted on farms throughout the plains, it will also grow on saline, alkaline, and on soils with calcareous pans. Distribution: Algeria ; Burkina Faso (Centre); Cameroon (Dikwa); French Guiana (Kouroussa); Ghana ); India (Maharashtra); Iran (Laristan); Ivory Coast (Est); Mali (Gao, Mopti, Segou, Sikasso, Cercle de Kita); Niger (Niamey, Tahoua); Nigeria (Ilorin, Bauchi, Adamawa, Northern, Sokoto, Katsina, Bornu, Kano, Niger); Pakistan (Karachi); Senegal (Kaolack, Saint Louis, Louga, Diourbel, Thies, Dakar); Somalia (Hiiraan, Galguduud, Togdheer); Sudan (Darfur, Kordofan, Bahr el Gebel); Gambia ();Togo ); Unknown ); Libya (Kufra Oases, Cyrenaica, Fezzan); Cape Verde (Ilha de Santiago); Guinea Bissau (BolamaBo); Chad (Chari Baguirmi); Oman Specimen total: 120 Degree squares: 54 Collection years: 1800-1987 Flowering period: Jan(3), Feb(4), Mar(2), Apr(2), May(7), Jun(1), Jul(1), Aug(8), Sep(3), Oct(10), Nov(3), Dec(6) Fruiting period: Jan(12), Feb(6), Mar(7), Apr(7), May(8), Jun(2), Jul(3), Aug(8), Sep(4), Oct(10), Nov(9), Dec(20) Altitude range: 15-1220m

Specimen information

Collector
PS

Specimen Number
s.n.