Caesalpinia erianthera Chiov.
قطري ، قيتري، شجرة العود
For people
- Eaten by people
- Unknown
- Toxic to people
- Unknown
For livestock
- Grazed by livestock
- Good fodder
- Toxic to livestock
- Unknown
Edibility and safety notes
No reliable information was found on whether any part of this shrub can be eaten by people or whether it is poisonous, so it should not be eaten. Its known uses are non-food: the heartwood is burnt as incense and the ash of dead wood is applied to skin sores. According to the field guide it is good browse for camels and sheep; this could not be checked against a second source, and no report of harm to livestock was found.
This guide is a hobby project, not expert advice. Never eat a wild plant, or feed it to animals, on the strength of this page alone. Read the disclaimer
Description
A shrub up to 1 m tall, sparsely covered with short appressed hairs, with ascending, herbaceous stems. Leaves even-pinnate with 3-7 pairs of almost sessile, lanceolate-oblong, pointed leaflets; stipules persistent, awl-shaped. Inflorescence axillary, erect, longer than the subtending leaves; bracts membranous, ovate or obovate, soon falling. Flowers about 1-1.5 cm; calyx of 5 sepals joined in a very short tube; corolla yellow, of 5 petals. Pod 3-6 x 2-2.5 cm, short-stalked, flat, oblong to elliptic, ending in a short point, straight or slightly curved, narrowly winged along both sutures, hairless or downy. Seeds compressed, obovate-wedge-shaped. Flowers March to June.
Habitat
Semi-arid areas and the slopes of hills and mountains.
Distribution
Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, northern Kenya) and southern Arabia (Yemen including Hadhramaut, Saudi Arabia, Oman). In Oman it grows in Dhofar Governorate, for example on the plains of Mirbat, Sadah and Dhalkut.
Pastoral value
Good browse for camels and sheep.
Other uses
The reddish-brown heartwood is cut into small pieces and used in incense preparations, as a substitute for woods such as sandalwood and agarwood, mixed with frankincense, aromatic oils and musk to perfume houses and clothes. Traditionally, the ash of burnt dead wood mixed with water is applied to abrasions and skin sores caused by itching.
Sources
- الدليل الحقلي المصور للنباتات البرية في سلطنة عُمان (BOOK.pdf p.130)
- GBIF backbone — Caesalpinia erianthera Chiov. (synonym of Denisophytum eriantherum) — api.gbif.org
- GBIF — Denisophytum eriantherum (Chiov.) Gagnon & G.P.Lewis — api.gbif.org
- GBIF — Denisophytum eriantherum distribution (WCVP: includes Oman) — api.gbif.org
- Wikipedia — Denisophytum — en.wikipedia.org
From the same family
All in this family
Fabaceae
Salam tree, Desert acacia
Acacia ehrenbergiana Hayne.
Fabaceae
Red thorn, Grey-haired acacia, Talh
Acacia gerrardii Benth.
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.