Acacia macrothyrsa Harms

Leguminosae

Synonyms

• Acacia buchanaii Harms.
• Acacia dalzielii Craib.
• Acacia prorsipinnata Stapf .

Description

A shrub or tree 3 to 15 m high with a stretching canopy and large, finely pinnate, very shiny, drooping leaves and striking golden to yellow, scented flowers, in panicles up to 45 cm long. Pod dark red-brown, flat, oblong, 7.5 to 12.5 cm long, 1 to 2 cm broad, persisting on the tree for long periods, 6- to 12-seeded (Andrews, 1952). It has relatively few rather short, unobtrusive thorns.

Water

Rainfall requirements are from 600 to over 1000 mm.

Distribution

It is found in Ghana, Nigeria, Zaire, Angola, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and in the southern Sudan (Brennan, 1959). Van Rensburg (1968) reported it locally and frequently in Combretum mixed woodland in Zambia on shallow, gravelly soils. This is a rather rare Sudano-Guinean species occasionally found in wet places of the S. Sahel.

Products & uses

Fuel wood, charcoal, medicine root extracts against diarrhoea or as laxative, for curing skin infections and wounds. Young shoots, which develop in October/November in Zambia, are palatable and readily browsed by stock.

Links for the genus:

• The WattleWeb: Acacias from A-Z
• Seed treatment and inoculation: Instructions for acacias and other NFT (Nitrogen Fixing Trees)
• Sustainable livestock production: Indigenous knowledge in utilization of local trees and shrubs in central Tanzania

References

Dale and Greenway 1961 ; El Amin 1973 ; Geerling 1982/88 ; Von Maydell 1983/86.