Acacia gerrardii Benth.
الطلح
For people
- Eaten by people
- Unknown
- Toxic to people
- Unknown
For livestock
- Grazed by livestock
- Good fodder
- Toxic to livestock
- Not toxic
Edibility and safety notes
No reliable record of people in Arabia eating any part of this tree; a single African source mentions a soup made from the bark, which is also described as emetic, so do not treat it as food. Livestock eat the leaves and pods and the book rates it good pasture. As with other acacias, the foliage is rich in tannins and the long thorns can injure.
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Description
A medium-sized, deciduous perennial tree about 5 m tall (larger in Africa), with sturdy cylindrical stems and rough, fissured bark. Leaves small and bipinnate. Spines in pairs, long, straight and strong. Flowers in globose heads, pale yellowish-white to cream and sweetly scented, attracting insects. Pods slender and sickle-shaped, reddish-green before ripening and brown when ripe; seeds oval and brown. Flowers from April to June. The wood closely resembles that of samr (Acacia tortilis) and burns well.
Habitat
Eastern and Western Hajar Mountains and wadi beds, in cool and semi-cool areas at 1000 m and above; grows in montane woodland on steep rocky slopes.
Distribution
Tropical and southern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula (also Sinai, southern Israel and Iraq). Scattered or in small groups in northern and southern Oman.
Pastoral value
Good pasture; livestock eat the pods and leaves of this tree.
Other uses
The wood is used as firewood and charcoal. Elsewhere in its range the bark is used for rope and twine, the wood for poles and tool handles, the thorny branches for livestock enclosures, and the flowers are visited by honey bees.
Sources
- كتاب نباتات عمان
- PROTA (PlantUse) - Acacia gerrardii — plantuse.plantnet.org(PROTA)
- Wikipedia - Vachellia gerrardi (var. najdensis in the Hajar Mountains of Oman) — en.wikipedia.org
- POWO - Vachellia gerrardi (Benth.) P.J.H.Hurter — powo.science.kew.org
From the same family
All in this family
Fabaceae
Salam tree, Desert acacia
Acacia ehrenbergiana Hayne.
Fabaceae
Gum arabic tree, Babul, Thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia, Thorny acacia
Acacia nilotica (L.) Del.
Fabaceae
Gum acacia, Gum arabic tree, Sudan gum
Acacia senegal (L.) Willd.
Fabaceae
Umbrella thorn, Umbrella thorn acacia, Israeli babool
Acacia tortilis (Forssk.) Hayne.