Acacia pennatula

(Schltdl. & Cham.) Benth.

Feather acacia

Fabaceae Edible: Pods, Seeds, Sap

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Description

A shrub or small tree. It grows 5 m tall. There are prickles along the stem. The leaves are twice divided and there are 8-18 pairs of pinnae. There are up to 50 pairs of pinnules on each pinnae. The flowers are yellow. They are in large clusters at the ends of branches. The pods are flattened.

Edible Uses

The sap is scraped from the bark and eaten. The pods and seeds are processed into flour.

Traditional Uses

The sap is scraped off the bark and eaten. The pods and seeds are processed into flour.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a tropical plant.

Where It Grows

Central America, Columbia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, North America, Reunion, South America, Venezuela,

Production

Pods develop within 1-2 months of flowering. The unripe pods stay of the tree for 9-10 months.

Notes

There are about 1,350 Acacia species. Over 1,000 occur in Australia. Also as Mimosaceae.

Synonyms

Acacia canescens (Britton ex Britton & Killip) García-Barr. & ForeroAcacia lanata M.Martens & GaleottiInga pennatula Schltdl. & Cham.Pithecellobium minutissimum M.E.JonesPoponax canescens Britton ex Britton & KillipPoponax pennatula (Schltdl. & Cham.) Britton & RoseVachellia pennatula (Schltdl. & Cham.) Seigler & Ebinger

Also Known As

Espino blanco, Espino jiote, Espino negro, Huizache, Palo Garabo

References (10)

Altschul, S.V.R., 1973, Drugs and Foods from Little-known Plants. Notes in Harvard University Herbaria. Harvard Univ. Press. Massachusetts. no. 1604
Grandtner, M. M., 2008, World Dictionary of Trees. Wood and Forest Science Department. Laval University, Quebec, Qc Canada. (Internet database http://www.WDT.QC.ca)
Grandtner, M. M. & Chevrette, J.,2013, Dictionary of Trees, Volume 2: South America: Nomenclature, Taxonomy and Ecology. Academic Press p 7
ILDIS Legumes of the World http:www;ildis.org/Legume/Web
London J. Bot. 1:390. 1842

Show all 10 references

MINNIS
Purata, Silvia E., Russell Greenberg, Verónica Barrientos , Jorge López-Portillo, 1999, Economic Potential of the Huizache, Acacia pennatula (Mimosoideae) in Central Veracruz, Mexico. Economic Botany, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1999), pp. 15-29
Roa, J. A. G. & Boada, D. S. G., 2018, Fundación para el Fortalecimiento de la Fruticultura y Plantas Alimenticias no Convencionales en Colombia.
www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea/products/afdbases/af
Yetman, D., 2002, The Guarijios of the Sierra Madre: Hidden People of Northwestern Mexico. University of New Mexico Press. p 197