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Contents

Description

Uses

Gum arabic

Tanning

Wood

Medicinal uses

Bark

Gum

Wood

Botanical varieties

References

Description

The tree is distributed from Egypt to Kenya and west Senegal. In the Sahara, it often grows in damp valleys.

''Acacia seyal'' is a thorny, 6 - 10 m high tree with a greenish or reddish bark. At the base of the 3 - 10 cm feathery leaves there 2 straight light-grey thorns. The blossoms form round, bright yellow clusters approximately in 1.5 cm diameter, in some cases growing to 7 - 20 cm long.

Uses

Gum arabic

''Acacia seyal'' is beside other acacias, the most important supplier for gum arabic, a natural polysaccharide, that drips out of the cracks of the bark and solidifies.^[1]

Tanning

Parts of the tree have a tannin content of up to 18-20%. The bark and seed pods of ''Acacia seyal sensu lato'' var. ''seyal'' have a tannin content of about 20%.^[2]

Wood

Wood from the tree is said to have been used in Ancient Egypt to make coffins and also Noah's Ark.^[3]

Medicinal uses

Bark

The bark is used to treat dysentery and bacterial infections of the skin, such as leprosy. The bark is also used as a stimulant.^[4]

Gum

The gum is used as an aphrodesiac, to treat diarrhea, as an emollient, to treat hemorrhaging, inflammation of the eye, intestinal ailments and rhinitis. The gum is used to ward off arthritis and bronchitis.^[4]

Wood

Incense from the wood is used to treat pain from rheumatism and to keep expectant mothers from contracting rhinitis and fevers.^[4]

Botanical varieties

★ ''Acacia seyal'' Del. Var. ''fistula'' (Schweinf.)Oliver^[7]

★ ''Acacia seyal sensu lato'' var. ''seyal''^[2]

References

1. Purdue University
2. FAO
3. Botanical Dermatology Database
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7. ILDIS
8. FAO


★ Arbonnier, M. Arbres, arbustes et the lianes zones seches d'Afrique de l'Ouest. CIRAD. Montpellier, 2000 ISBN 287614431X

★ Wikipedia (German) "Seyal-Akazie"