Acacia hockii

Vachellia seyal or Shittim Wood is an evergreen spiny tree about 17 m in height and 60 cm in trunk diameter. It is also known as Red Acacia. It has an open and rounded canopy and a pale greenish or reddish bark. Medical conditions such as colds, diarrhea, hemorrhage, jaundice, headaches, burns, leprosy, dysentery, and rheumatic pains can be treated using various plant parts of V. seyal in different forms. The bark yields an edible gum that can be eaten fresh or mixed with pulp from the fruit of Balanites aegyptiaca to make a syrup. The plant has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria that form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. It is grown from seeds or semi-ripe cuttings of lateral shoots. My be recorded as Acacia seyal.

Acacia hockii is an evergreen Tree growing to 10 m by 12 m at a fast rate.
It is hardy to zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Bees.
It can fix Nitrogen.
Suitable for: medium and heavy soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic soils and can grow in very acid and saline soils.
It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.

This species is more commonly found within 12 degrees of the equator, especially in semi-arid areas. It is found in an altitude range of 1,700 - 2,000 metres, growing best where the mean annual temperature is in the range 18 - 28°c and the mean annual rainfall is 250 - 1,000mm. Grows best in a well-drained, neutral to acid soil. It normally prefers heavy, clayey soils, stony gravely alluvial soils or humic soils. This species is tolerant to a high pH in the range 6 - 8. Plants also tolerate salts in the soil and periodic flooding. The subspecies var. Fistula is more tolerant to waterlogging than var. Seyal. Plants are tolerant of wind and salt spray. On good sites, young trees can increase in height by more than 1 metre a year. Trees managed on a 10 - 15 years rotation can yield 10 - 35 cubic metres of fuel wood per hectare per year. Trees usually coppice very freely. The flowers are borne in profusion and are spicy scented or sweet smelling. Bees are the likely pollinators, the flowers yielding a white-coloured honey with mild aroma. Flowering is concentrated in the middle of the dry season, with ripe fruits appearing 4 months later. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby. Carbon Farming - Cultivation: regional crop. Management: standard.