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The gum arabic tree is a legume tree
from the dry tropics and subtropics. It is valued for the production of gum Arabic.
The leaves and pods are browsed by livestock. The gum arabic tree is a low
branching, small, and spiny tree, which grows up to 7-15 m in height with a
girth of about 1.3 m. It has a rounded, flat-topped crown. The tree is
deciduous, dropping its leaves during the dry season. Under dry conditions, the
taproot develops to a great depth allowing the tree to become larger than
usual. The trunk is about 30 cm in diameter and is covered by a greyish-white
bark that becomes dark, scaly and thin in old trees. The tree bears prickly
branches, armed with three hooked thorns, up to 7 mm long, just below the
nodes. The leaves are pinnately compound, 3.5-8 cm long. Their rachis may be
spiny. The leaflets are linear to oblong, 1-9 mm long and 0.5-3 mm wide. They
may be sparsely hairy and a pale glaucous green in color. The yellowish-white
and fragrant flowers are borne on cylindrical spikes, 5-10 cm long. The fruits
are straight, hairy, flat, dehiscent papery pods, about 7 cm long x 2 cm wide.
Green and pubescent when young, they become a shiny bronze with maturity. They
contain 3-6 smooth, flat shiny seeds.
The most important use of the gum
arabic tree is the harvest of gum arabic, an exudate from the bark that is
tapped for this purpose during the dry season. Several thousand tons of gum
arabic are internationally traded every year, mainly in Europe and the USA. Gum
arabic has many commercial uses: food (flavor fixative, emulsifier, stabilizer
of dairy products), pharmaceutics (these two sectors representing 60-75% of the
use of gum arabic), and industrial products (inks, pigments, polishes). Gum
arabic was reported to have antidotal effects as it can destroy many alkaloids. Acacia
senegal seeds are traditionally used for human nutrition in Rajasthan. The
wood is valued as firewood, and can be used to produce charcoal. The wood is
also used to make utensils, poles and fence-posts. The bark and the roots
provide fiber and make strong ropes and fishing nets. Gum arabic trees provide
valuable fodder to sheep, goats and camels. Leaves and pods are browsed by
domestic and wild ruminants. Flowers provide valuable nectar to bees for honey
production.
Growing Instructions
1. Scarify the seeds by nicking or
sanding the seed coat.
2. Soak the seeds in water for several
hours.
3. Put a mixture of potting soil and
sand or perlite into a pot with drainage holes in the base. The soil
should be moist and well-drained.
4. Sow the seeds on the soil.
5. Cover the seeds with a thin layer
of soil.
6. Water the seeds. Keep the soil
moist but not wet.
7. When the plants are a few inches
tall, they can be transplanted.
Michael (verified owner) –
Very fast delivery.
Mateo (verified owner) –
Great seeds, I now have squash everywhere from this one pack of seeds
Mason (verified owner) –
The product is firmly packed.
Zohar (verified owner) –
Great germination.
Phoenix (verified owner) –
Great germination.