ACACIA FRUIT(DRY)[ACACIA NILOTICA]

Listing description

 A small to medium tree, 7 to 13 m tall, with a stem diameter of 20 to 30 cm. The crown is low, spreading and almost symmetrical, and can be flattened or a rounded umbrella-shape (in free standing specimens). The bark is very dark brown to black with deep regular vertical grooves in older specimens. The thorns are almost straight, paired at the nodes of the stem and usually pointing slightly backwards.

Detailed description

Common name: 

acacia, Egyptian mimosa, Egyptian thorn, red thorn. Babool, babul (in India). Burkill gives at least 129 different names for this plant as a whole or for the fruit and seeds.

Leaves: The leaves are bipinnate, 4.5 to 7 cm long, with 2 to 14 pairs of pinnae. The leaflets are 1.5 to 7 mm long. The trees generally lose their leaves during the dry season, though riverine subspecies can be almost evergreen.
Flowers: The flowers are bright yellow and borne on globe-shaped flower heads. The flowers are sweetly scented and appear near the beginning of the rainy season. Flowering is prolific, and can occur a number of times in a season. Often only about 0.1% of flowers set pods.
Fruits: The nutritious pods retain their seeds at maturity and are dispersed by animals. The pods are compressed, slightly curved, and vary from slightly constricted to almost rosary-like (like a string of beads). The pods are smooth or covered with fine hairs. A mature tree can produce 2,000 to 3,000 pods in a good fruiting season, each with eight to sixteen seeds, yielding 5,000 to 16,000 seeds per kg, depending on the subspecies.

Uses

Medicinal

Acacia nilotica has a wealth of medicinal uses. It is used for stomach upset and pain, the bark is chewed to protect against scurvy, an infusion is taken for dysentery and diarrhoea. In Nigeria it is one of the standard drugs for treating diarrhoea. It has also been used to eliminate stomach worms, as an antiseptic for open wounds and as an expectorant for treating coughs. The species has also been used in veterinary medicine, for example as a molluscicide to reduce liver-flukes in cattle.

Gum

Gum is present in the bark and tends to be dark in colour. This species may indeed have been the original source of true gum arabic which is now obtained commercially from Senegalia senegal. The Acacia nilotica gum, samogh or samuk (arabic) is sold in balls and is commercially of inferior quality. It has been used as an emulsifying agent and emollient. It is edible and is used to relieve throat and chest complaints.

Other uses

The pods are desirable as fodder for cattle, and the leaves, young shoots and young pods are thought to aid milk production.
Acacia nilotica wood burns without too much smoke and provides good charcoal. The flowers provide pollen and nectar for bees. This species is suitable for live fencing, mine timber, railway sleepers, boat building, wheels, and water wells as its wood is durable and resistant to borers and termites.
The sap-wood and heart-wood was used in ancient Egypt for house beams, furniture, panelling and statues as it was regarded as impervious to insect and fungus attack. The bark contains tannins and has been used to preserve and soften leather. Phytochemical analysis has shown the presence of two types of tannin (gallotannins and catechins) which explain its therapeutic action as well as its use in tanning hides.
Babul (subspecies indica) is a popular farm tree of the central plains of India. More recently, interest has centred on the fastigiate form (subspecies cupressiformis). This subspecies makes an ideal windbreak to surround fields as its narrow crown shades less than other windbreak species.
In shamanism Acacia nilotica has been used to drive away evil spirits.

PRICE

$90/KG OR $40.90/KG

For more information:

mobile: +2348039721941

contact person: emeaba uche

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website: www.franchiseminerals.com