Vachellia nubica
| Vachellia nubica | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Caesalpinioideae |
| Clade: | Mimosoid clade |
| Genus: | Vachellia |
| Species: | V. nubica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Vachellia nubica (Benth.) Kyal. & Boatwr.[1]
| |
| Synonyms | |
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Vachellia nubica is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae.
Botanical description[edit]
It is a somewhat obconical shrub which grows up to about 5 metres high.[2] The branches often radiate from the base in all directions. The branchlets tend to be straight and are grey-white, with grey-white spines with brown tips, 0.5 to 1.5 cm long. The pinnae are in 3 to 12 pairs, with leaflets in 5 to 15 pairs, about 0.3 cm long.[3] The flowers are off-white in globose heads, and are very fragrant Pods are 5 to 10 cm long, 1.25 cm broad and pale yellow, pointed at both ends. The seeds are olive-green, with five to ten in a pod.[4] It has an offensive smell when bruised or cut.
Distribution[edit]
Vachellia nubica occurs mainly on alluvial silt soils. It is found in north-east Africa from Egypt to Kenya, and also in Iraq and Iran.
Uses[edit]
It is an important browse shrub in the drier parts of Kenya. The leaves and pods are high in calcium, and the leaves are a good source of phosphorus.[5]
The bark extract is said to have medicinal value amongst the Borana of Ethiopia, where it is boiled amongst other things for colds.[6] Amongst the Samburu of Kenya is used for "women's stomach pain, hetpatitis, fever and gonorrhoea".[7] the bark is peeled, soaked in water and drunk as tea.
References[edit]
- ^ Kyalangalilwa B, Boatwright JS, Daru BH, Maurin O, van der Bank M (2013). "Phylogenetic position and revised classification of Acacia s.l. (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in Africa, including new combinations in Vachellia and Senegalia". Bot J Linn Soc. 172 (4): 500–523. doi:10.1111/boj.12047. hdl:10566/3454.
- ^ J. P. M. Brenan: Flora of Tropical East Africa, 1959
- ^ "Species description". Archived from the original on 2001-02-10.
- ^ Andrews F.W. 1952. Flowering plants of the Sudan. Vol. II Sterculiaceae-Dipsacaceae. T. Buncle & Co. publ., Arbroath, Scotland.
- ^ Dougall, H.W. & Bodgan, A.V. 1958. Browse plants of Kenya – with special reference to those occurring in South Barino. E. Afr. Agric. J., 23: 236-245.
- ^ Coppock, D. Layne, The Borana Plateau of Southern Ethiopia: Synthesis of pastoral research, development and change, 1980-91. ILRI, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1994
- ^ Fratkin, Elliot: Traditional Medicine and Concepts of Healing among Samburu Pastoralists of Kenya in Journal of Ethnobiology 16(1) Summer 1996