 |
African acacia
A spiny bush, shrub or small tree to 6m high with an open spreading crown, flat-topped at maturity.More commonly a small shrub 1.5-3.5m. Bark: grey, usually smooth, older bark finely fissured.Thorns:White, straight, some galled at their base. Galls fleshly, hollow,up to 5cm in diameter, dark green to reddish purple when fresh, turning dark grey to black and usually inhabited by black or brown ants as they dry. Flowers are numerous in white heads and the fruits are narrow reddish brown pod. Grows in Eastern and Central Africa, such as Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somali and Democratic Republic of Congo. Found in kenya in such places as kaputei plains, Loita plains, Kedong valley, Lambwe valley, Ndaragwa, Naivasha and Morupus (West Pokot). Most common at 1,300 - 2,400m in open black clay plains, dry rocky hillsides or wooded grassland. Often the dominant shrub in plains with black cotton soils at medium altitudes. Food Fresh soft fleshy galls edible. Galls have have a sweet, often slightly bitter taste. Very young galls are green to dark green, bitter and filled with fluid.As they mature they turn reddish purple and hollow. This is the right stage to eat them. Also at this stage stinging ants bore into them at the thorn base and inhibit them. With age, the galls harden, become fibrous, greyish - black and unpalatable.Inner bark fiber, which has a sweetish bitter taste, may be chewed. Galls are a favorite food for herds-men. Branches are used in fencing. Mature plants are a good source of fuel.Leaves, shoots and fresh soft galls are good fodder for goats, camels, cattle and donkeys. Giraffes like browsing on this plants. Fresh galls found during active growth, mainly after rainy season. Flowers in october - November in Naivasha and Kajiado. A quite variable species in Kenya.
A small to medium sized acacia, usually 3 - 5m, with scattered branches (especially in young plants) or with a spreading umbrella-shaped crown and low branches (in older plants). The bark is dark brown to black on the trunk. Branches reddish brown. The thorns are branched armed with paired strong spines.Flowers are in bright yellow to orange heads. Fruits are grey to purple - black, straight or slightly curved indehiscent pod up to 12cm long by 1.2cm wide, with a whitish bloom and gummy pulp. A species widely spread in tropical and subtropical Africa and east to india, from Ethiopia and Sudan to north-eastern South Africa and northen Namibia. Widely distributed in kenya in acacia bushland and wooded grassland such as growing in kaputei plains (kajiado), kedong valley and kerio valley, 0-2,500m.Common in both dry lowlands and highlands. Soils variable from sandy to black cotton.Seems to prefer gravelly red soils.The common rainfall is at 500 - 800mm. Food Bark (kamba, Maasai, Mbeere) and the gummy fruit pulp (Pokot, Turkana, Rendille) boiled in water, sugar added and drunk as tea. Pods are famine food (Mbeere). Bark and roots boiled in milk, blood (Rendille) or soup, especially by warriors for appetite and general fitness (Maasai, Rendille,Samburu). Tea made from fruit drunk for stomach problems. Boiled roots extract drunk as a tea for chest pain, abdominal pain and tuberculosis (Samburu). Roots or bark extract taken alone or boiled in soup for indigestion (constipation), stomach upset (Maasai, Samburu), as an emetic (Samburu) and for hepatitis (Samburu). Bark and root used in treatment of veneral diseases (Maasai, kamba). Cold bark infusion drunk to treat nausea caused by drinking milk. Chewed leaf or boiled bark applied on wounds, burns and sore eyes (Samburu). Inner bark chewed or boiled as cure for stomach-ache and diarrhoea (Pokot). Boiled leaf extract used for chest pain or pneumonia (Maasai).Bark and roots used as an aphrodisiac, and roots for gonorrhoea, impotence and chest diseases (Masaai).Bark decoction given to children for fever (Maasai).Sap from twigs (Pokot) and squeezed pods (Turkana, Pokot) applied to infected eyes. Bark infusion used against "malaria" (Pokot). Infusion of any plant part used to treat headache (Somali, Boran). Root bark (Mbeere) and fruit (kamba) decoction used for coughs; boiled bark with fat used for painful joints, backache and stomach ulcers (Pokot). Fencing material. fuel wood. charcoal,fodder for all livestock. Bark boiled with meat to soften it (Pokot). Bark used for tanning (Mbeere). Bark and roots are a source of dye for baskets (Machakos). Thorns used for piercing ears (kamba, Tharaka), removing jiggers (Mbeere) and as plugs for gourds (kamba, Mbeere). Gum from fruit or bark used for attaching feathers to arrows (Mbeere). Wood is hard and durable, used as posts for grain stores (kamba). Flowers in January (kitui), May-June (Laikipia) or September-october (Naivasha, Kajiado).Fruits in August-September (kitui) or october in (Laikipia). Its Best propagated by direct sowing at site. This species is quite variable. Two subspecies occur in kenya: spp. subalata (Vatke) Brenan (syn: A. subalata Vatke) which is by far the commonest; ssp. leiocarpa is a coastal subspecies (Malindi, Pate Islands, kiunga, into Somalia) with hairless fruit and young branches. At least seven subspecies are recognized, the others being found outside kenya.
Kamba: king'ole(Machakos), kikole, king'olola(north Kitui), Luo: kiluor, otiep Maa: olederkesi, enderkesi, interkes(plural), olibida, Mbeere: mung'othi, Orma: bura-diima. Pokot: chemanga, chemankanyan, Rendille: hadhaah, mirgi-abah(gum), Samburu:iderkesi, manok(gum), Somali: edad, edad-geri, adad, edaad, Swahili:kikwata, mgunga, Teso: ekunoit, ekodokodoi, Turkana: ekunoit. Shrub or small tree up to 9 m tall, more often 2-4 m high. Crown is flat in mature trees. Bark:Scaly, yellowish brown or grey-brown. Branches armed. Thorns: Spines brown-black, usually arranged in three's at the leaf nodes, the middle one recurved, the others directed forwards. Flowers: Buds red, opening to long white or cream spikes, borne in two's or three's or singly. Fruit: A flat brown, papery, prominently veined dehiscent pod to 10 cm long by 2 cm broad, often slightly constricted between some or all seeds. Seeds usually 3-5, greenish brown, flattened with a circular outline. From West Africa east to Egypt, south to South Africa and Namibia. Also found in Asia. Grows in Kenya, e.g. Homa Hill, in the Rift Valley, Lokitaung and Mutha Hill in dry Acacia-commiphora bushland and wooded grassland, often forming a pure stand on raised rocky ground in very dry areas, 100-1,700 m. Prefers well-aerated soils, especially rocky loam or sandy soils. Rainfall: 200-800 mm. Food A clear edible gum is produced by this tree. This is the best acacia gum in Kenya, much treasured by pastoralists. To induce gum formation, a section of the bark is wounded or stripped off. In the wild state gum production is induced by natural factors. Plants in arid areas or in the dry season tend to produce better gum. This species produces the well-known gum arabic used in pharmaceutical, food and confectionery industries and in the manufacture of glue. Juice obtained from fruits is used as eye medicine(Ilchamus). Fuelwood, charcoal, house poles, fencing. Bark a source of fire. Leaves are goat and camel fodder. Commercial gum is collected from the wild (Garissa,Isiolo, Marakwet, Samburu, Mandera, Wajir) mainly by children and women. It is usually picked for export to the Far East and Europe. The gum trade in Kenya is less lucrative than in Sudan and Somalia. The main reason is the poor quality of the gum, mainly due to the fact that various grades and types are mixed. In Kenya, the gum exudes from the tree mainly as a result of natural causes or stress. In the Sudan, the business is old and well established. Here the plant is purposely injured during tapping to induce gum formation. The gum is ready for harvesting about a month after tapping. Collecting can be done over two or more months. Tapping may begin when the tree is four years old and a tree may produce gum up to the age of 15-20 years. Tapping tends to destroy the bark thus lowering production. In the Sudan tapping is done with a small axle, mainly by removing a long strip of the outer bark from the branches, and is normally done in the dry season when the plant is in stress. The tappers are experienced and hence the quality is good. Kenyan gum, on the other hand, is traditionally collected by pastoralists. Until recently, the business only attracted a few Somali traders, but now it's attracting full-time collectors and thus the quality of gum is improving. The potential for development exists. High densities and sometimes pure stands of this species have been found in parts of Turkana and Baringo Districts, especially in northern Baringo, in Kakauma and along Kapaedo-Lokichar road. Training of collectors, improved collecting methods and more organized marketing would be the way forward in developing this resource as the market for gum arabic is far from saturated. Currently the Sudan is the largest producer others include Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Chad, Ethiopia and Somalia. Gum production is highest in August-September and February-March. Flowers in July(Kitui); fruits in August-September(Turkana, Baringo, Ngong). Best propagated by seed. Soaking in water for a day or nicking may improve germination. This species is extremely variable. At least 3 varieties are found in Kenya: var.senegal Distribution: Moyale, Homa Hill 100-1,700 m. var.kerensis Schweinf Distribution: Lokitaung, Baringo, Mutha 460-1,130 m. Gum of less superior quality than of var.senegalvar. var.leiorachis Brenan (Orma:burda-diima, Somali:adadgher). This species often hybridizes with Acacia mellifera in Kajiado.
|
