Acacia farnesiana

Sweet acacia is a deciduous shrub reaching 9 m tall, growing at a fast rate. It flowers from February to March with hermaphroditic blooms and fixes atmospheric nitrogen. Hardy to UK zone 8. The plant thrives in light sandy, medium loamy, or heavy clay soils that are well-drained, tolerating very acidic to very alkaline conditions and saline soils. It requires full sun, prefers dry to moist conditions, and withstands drought well. Sharp spines cover the plant, making it difficult to harvest.

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

Sweet acacia yields several edible parts, though all should be cooked before use to help reduce toxins. A low-quality gum from the plant can be used to prepare sweets. The small leaflets can be boiled and eaten — mild and green-flavored but somewhat stringy — and the cooking water is also palatable. Flowers are soft-textured and fair in flavor; they are best steeped to make a pleasant tea, but because acacia flowers may contain cyanide compounds, the flowers should be removed after steeping and the tea boiled before drinking. Young, tender pods can be boiled and eaten as vegetables — juicy and mildly flavored with hints of melon — though bitterness develops with age, and only young pods are suitable since older ones become tough and woody. The plant's sharp spines make gathering difficult. Mature seeds are not considered edible.

Traditional Uses

The green seed are eaten. The young pods have been recorded as eaten after cooking. They are also made into chutney with dried fish. The gum is eaten. The ground up seeds are eaten. The germinated seeds are claimed to be eaten. The gum is used to prepare sweets. The young leaves are used in India as a substitute for tamarind in chutneys.

Medicinal Uses

The bark is astringent and demulcent, and along with the leaves and roots it is used for various medicinal purposes. Colombians bathe in a bark decoction as a treatment for typhoid. The gummy roots have been chewed to relieve sore throats. A decoction of the gum from the trunk has been used to treat diarrhoea. An infusion of the flowers serves as a stomachic and is also used for dyspepsia and neuroses. Flowers are added to an ointment rubbed on the forehead for headaches. Powdered dried leaves are applied externally to treat wounds. The green pods are decocted and used for dysentery and inflammations of the skin and mucous membranes. An infusion of the pod is used for sore throats, diarrhoea, leucorrhoea, conjunctivitis, and uterorrhagia. In Nepal, the juice of the bark is used to treat swellings.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. This tree occurs naturally in Australia, Asia and Africa. It will grow on most soils. It is drought and frost resistant. It most commonly grows naturally on clay soils. In Papua New Guinea the plants are coastal below 60 m altitude. It grows in areas with an annual rainfall between 400-4,000 mm. It can grow in acid or alkaline soils. It can grow in arid places. It is moderately salt tolerant. It suits hardiness zones 11-12. In Sichuan and Yunnan. It grows on atolls.

Where It Grows

Afghanistan, Africa, Algeria, America, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Asia, Australia*, Bahamas, Belize, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canary Islands, Caribbean, Central Africa, Central America*, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Easter Island, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Europe, Fiji, France, French Guiana, Guianas, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinée, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Martinique, Mauritius, Mediterranean, Mexico*, Middle East, Monserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Africa, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, PNG, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Spain, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, Suriname, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad-Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, UAE, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

It is grown from seed. They can also be grown from shoots near the base.

Propagation

Seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a sunny position in a warm greenhouse. Stored seed should be scarified, pre-soaked for 12 hours in warm water, then sown in a warm greenhouse in March; germination takes 3–4 weeks at 25°C. Once seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots and grow on in a sunny greenhouse position through their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts, with some cold protection recommended for the first winter outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood with a heel can be taken in July or August, potted individually in a frame, overwintered in a greenhouse, and planted out in late spring or early summer. A fair percentage take successfully.

Other Uses

In suitable climates — particularly India, Iraq, and the Mediterranean — sweet acacia is grown extensively as a hedge and windbreak, and has been used for erosion control on sandy soils. It is a good bee plant, with flowers highly attractive to bees. An essential oil called Cassie is distilled from the flowers and used extensively in European perfumery, particularly in violet bouquets. Cassie pomades are manufactured in Uttar Pradesh and the Punjab. A mature plant ten years old can yield 9 kg of flowers per year, with flowering beginning from the third year in suitable climates. The perfume is extracted as a concrete or pomade: macerated flowers are placed in melted purified fat for several hours, then replaced with fresh flowers repeatedly until the fat is saturated. The resulting pomade has a violet-like but more intense odour. Absolute is prepared by mixing the pomade with alcohol (2–3 kg to about 4 litres), left to stand for 3–4 weeks at around -5°C, then the alcohol is separated and distilled off, yielding an olive-green liquid with a strong cassie-flower scent. The bark and fruit are sources of tannin used in dyes and inks; seedpods contain about 23% tannin. Bark combined with iron ores and salts produces a black dyestuff. A gummy substance from young pods mends pottery, and a mucilage can be manufactured from the gummy sap. The gum exuding from the trunk is considered superior to gum arabic in arts. Woody branches are used in India as toothbrushes. The wood is heavy, hard, durable in soil, and close-grained, used for fencing posts, agricultural implements, pegs, and woodenware.

Production

It is fast growing. Flowering can occur almost continuously if watering is regular. In northern Australia flowering is normally May to July with pods from September to November.

Other Information

It is eaten in Australia but it is not known if it is used for food in Papua New Guinea. Fruit are sold in local markets. It is cultivated.

Notes

There are about 1,350 Acacia species. Over 1,000 occur in Australia. This one can become invasive. Also as Mimosaceae.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Akasia manis, Ambar, Ari velam, Bairithai, Baiy goanbili, Cassie flower, Cassie-oil plant, Debena, Fragrant acacia, Gandh babool, Gandharii, Gandhio babul, Gandila bamura, Gaya babul, Gnadhelo babul, Grabur, Huisache, Jait, Kadi vel, Kaipakoa, Kankar, Kapur, Kasturi tuma, Keo thom, Khanghu, Krathin-tet, Mawk-nawn-hkam, Mawurr, Nan-long-kyaing, Nkampi-chibe, Opopanax, Perfumed wattle, Popinac, Sambour meas, Scented babool, Scented Wattle, Semak jarum, Sponge flower, Sponge tree, Sweet acacia, Sweet Mimosa Bush, Tarwa kadam, Te kaibakoa, Tsorofotra, Vilayati kikar, Vinorama, West Indian Blackthorn, Zongta te

References (73)

• Ambasta S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 5
• Bailey, F. M., 1913, Comprehensive Catalogue of Queensland Plants. Queensland Government. p 164
• Barwick, M., 2004, Tropical and Subtropical Trees. A Worldwide Encyclopedic Guide. Thames and Hudson p 1
• Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 4
• Blamey, M and Grey-Wilson, C., 2005, Wild flowers of the Mediterranean. A & C Black London. p 79

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