Acacia etbaica
Schweinf.
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(c) Franklin Charles Graham IV, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
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.
Medicinal Uses
Acacia species have possible uses in folk medicine. A 19th-century Ethiopian medical text describes a potion made from an Ethiopian species (known as grar) mixed with the root of the tacha, then boiled, as a cure for rabies. An astringent medicine high in tannins, called catechu or cutch, is procured from several species, but more especially from Senegalia catechu (syn. Acacia catechu), by boiling down the wood and evaporating the solution so as to get an extract. The catechu extract from A. catechu figures in the history of chemistry in giving its name to the catechin, catechol, and catecholamine chemical families ultimately derived from it.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It grows in dry bushland and semi-desert. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall between 200-1,400 mm. It grows between sea level and 1,800 m above sea level.
Where It Grows
Africa, East Africa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda,
Notes
Also as Mimosaceae.
Also Known As
Ajoo, Arrad, Girar, Mgunga, Seraw, Sigib, Sogsog, Yuube
References (3)
- Beche D, Gebeyehu G, Feyisa K., 2016, Indigenous Utilization and Management of Useful Plants in and around Awash National Park, Ethiopia. J Plant Biol Soil Health. 3(1):12.
- Lulekal, E., et al, 2011, Wild edible plants in Ethiopia: a review on their potential to combat food insecurity. Afrika Focus - Vol. 24, No 2. pp 71-121
- Mengistu, F. & Hager, H., 2008, Wild Edible Fruit Species Cultural Domain, Informant Species Competence and Preference in Three Districts of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Ethnobotany Research & Applications 6:487-502
