Faidherbia albida

Faidherbia albida is a fast-growing deciduous tree reaching 25 m tall and 35 m wide. Hardy to UK zone 10, it produces flowers pollinated by butterflies and insects and is self-fertile. The tree fixes nitrogen and attracts wildlife. It thrives in light sandy and medium loamy well-drained soils across mildly acid, neutral, and basic pH ranges, and tolerates saline soils. It requires full sun, prefers dry to moist conditions, and handles drought well.

Description

A very large spreading tree. It grows up to 20-31 m tall. The trunk can be 1 m across. The trunk is light grey. The leaves are fine and drooping. The leaves can be light green or blue-green. The twigs are white and smooth. It has thorns which are straight and 4 cm long. They are white at the base and brown at the tips. They occur in pairs. Each leaf has 4-8 side branches although there can be 2-12 branches. These carry 6-23 pairs of small oblong leaflets. The leaf stalk does not have glands. It is leafless during the rainy season and has leaves during the dry season. The flowers are long cream spikes. The pods are large - about 10 cm long by 2.5 cm wide. They are red brown and twisted or almost curled into a ring. The pods do not burst open. The pods contain several hard shiny seeds. These are edible after processing. The seeds are 9-11 mm long by 6-8 mm wide.

Edible Uses

The seeds are eaten by local people, particularly during the dry season and in times of food shortage. A gum arabic known as 'Gomme de Senegal' is obtained from the stems.

Traditional Uses

The seeds are boiled, then re-boiled and the skins removed then eaten in times of food scarcity. This is done to remove toxic components. The pods are sometimes eaten. The pods are used for flavouring. Caution: The seeds can contain hydrogen cyanide and would need to be cooked.

Medicinal Uses

Use of the bark and roots by local peoples is widespread. Both are astringent and febrifuge, and are used internally or externally to treat respiratory infections, digestive disorders, haemorrhages, malaria, and other fevers. The bark is also used to clean teeth, as it is believed to contain fluorine, and an extract from it is used to treat toothache.

Known Hazards

None mentioned.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It mostly grows on river banks and river flats and can grow on sandy soils. It can be damaged by frost. It grows in dry savannah but prefers damp sites and river banks. In southern Africa it grows between 40-1,070 m altitude. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall between 20-1,800 mm. It can grow in arid places.

Where It Grows

Africa, Algeria, Angola, Asia, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Chad, Congo DR, Côte d'Ivoire, Cyprus, East Africa, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, India, Iran, Israel, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mediterranean, Middle East, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Sahel, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, West Africa, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds. The seeds are put in boiling water and soaked overnight then planted. It can be cut back and will re-grow.

Propagation

Seed germinates best, especially after storage, when pre-soaked in warm water for 24 hours before sowing. Germination rates of 40–60% can be expected within 6–30 days. Mechanical scarification before sowing is reported to yield 95% germination within 8 days. Sowing in nursery beds or containers is preferable to direct seeding, which often has a high failure rate. Seedlings quickly develop a deep taproot and should be planted out as soon as possible — normally when 3–4 months old. Seed should be removed from pods immediately upon ripening, as it is quickly invaded by Bruchid beetle larvae. When kept free of insects in simple closed containers, seed can be stored successfully for several years. Promising vegetative propagation methods include cuttings, grafting, and multiplication by root fragments.

Other Uses

White acacia is a strong soil improver and stabilizer. Its spreading root system protects soil along watercourse banks, and root bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen. The tree sheds its leaves during the rainy season, boosting soil nutrients for new-season crops while reducing competition for sunlight with crops and protecting them from birds until harvest. It is commonly intercropped with annual crops, especially pearl millet and groundnuts; recorded yield increases for millet grown under this tree's canopy range from 50–150%. Results for sorghum, cotton, groundnut, and maize are variable. The tree is also maintained on farms to shade coffee and provide dry-season shade. It has been recommended as an alternative to Leucaena leucocephala when integrated with maize. The bark contains 20–28% tannins. Wood ash from the burnt wood is used as a potash source in soap-making. The heartwood is pale and creamy, the sapwood slightly paler. The wood is hard and of medium weight; when green it is susceptible to staining fungi and pinhole borer, so it is left to soak for several months to reduce sap content and minimise attack by fungi, borers, and termites. Even with careful seasoning, boards tend to spring and twist one or two hours after sawing. The wood works fairly easily by hand but is difficult to finish smoothly, and care is needed when nailing, bolting, and joining. It is used to make utensils, handicrafts, canoes, furniture, boxes, drums, and oil presses. The wood is an excellent fuel with a calorific value estimated at 19,741 kJ/kg of dry wood, and produces high-quality charcoal at yields as low as 17%.

Production

Trees grow quickly. They can be 7 m high in 3 years. It develops its first fruit after 2-15 years. A large tree can yield a ton of pods.

Other Information

A famine food.

Notes

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

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Afrar, Ana tree, Anaboom, Apple ring acacia, Apple-ring thorn-tree, Betam-pale, Bioepi, Biongomo, Borassam-o, Borassanhe, Bubirique, Buladanelhe, Bule, Burle-danedjo, Busseu-uliba, Butchampele, Cad, Camude, Camudo, Djue, Ferida-branco, Gawo, Gozanga, Herero, Icuti, Karau, M'suango, Marrone, Msangu, Msangumsangu, Mucesi, Munga-nunsyi, Munga, Musanga, Musenga, Mutsangu, Nsangu, Omue, Pau-ferida, Po-de-ferida-branco, Sipana-brabu, Sipina, Soango, Umpumbu, Ussimpulo, Winter thorn

References (41)

• Abbiw, D.K., 1990, Useful Plants of Ghana. West African uses of wild and cultivated plants. Intermediate Technology Publications and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p 46 (As Acacia albida)
• Asfaw, Z. and Tadesse, M., 2001, Prospects for Sustainable Use and Development of Wild Food Plants in Ethiopia. Economic Botany, Vol. 55, No. 1, pp. 47-62 (As Acacia albida)
• Ballal, M. E., et al, 2014, Ethno-botany of Natural Forests of Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan State, Sudan. Journal of Forest Poducts & Industries. 3(1):13-19
• Bekele-Tesemma A., Birnie, A., & Tengnas, B., 1993, Useful Trees and Shrubs for Ethiopia. Regional Soil Conservation Unit. Technical Handbook No 5. p 38 (As Acacia albida)
• Bunderson, W. T. et al, 2002, Common Agroforestry Species in Malawi. Malawi Agroforestry Extension Project, Pubication No. 46, Lilongwe. p 18

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