Acacia senegal

Senegalia senegal or Gum Arabic is a small, spiny, deciduous tree native to semidesert regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, Oman, Pakistan, and west coastal India. It is also known in other common names such as Gum acacia, Gum arabic tree, Senegal gum, and Sudan gum arabic. It grows about 5-12 m tall and 30 cm in trunk diameter, with a rounded canopy, short trunk, and low branches. Being a legume, it has the capability to fix atmospheric nitrogen and improve soil conditions. This species is of high valued for its production of gum arabic which is used as an additive to food, in cosmetics, and in crafts. Dried seeds can be consumed as food. Medicinally, gum arabic is used to treat sore throats, coughs, catarrh, dysentery, diarrhea, burns, leprosy, ophthalmia, hemorrhage, gonorrhea, and nodular leprosy. The seed yields oil, which is used in soap-making, and dyes. The wood is used for posts, poles, tool handles, etc. It also makes a good fuel and charcoal. Tree bark and roots are used in making ropes.

Acacia senegal is a deciduous Shrub growing to 6 m by 6 m at a slow rate.
It is hardy to zone 10. The flowers are pollinated by Bees, Insects.
It can fix Nitrogen.
Suitable for: light , medium and heavy soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soils.
It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

A plant for the drier tropical areas, where it can be found at elevations from 100 - 1,700 metres. Tolerates a minimum temperature of about 15°c. Plants can tolerate high daily temperatures, but are sensitive to frost. Prefers areas where the mean annual rainfall is 300 - 400mm, but can survive with as little as 100mm and a dry period of 8 - 11 months. Grows best in a moist, well-drained, neutral to acid soil. Gum production is best when the plant grows in a poor soil. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 8. Established plants are very drought tolerant. Plants can be coppiced and pollarded. Wood yields of 120 - 190 cubic metres per hectare, with annual increments of 0.5 - 1.0 cubic metres per hectare have been recorded. The gum exudes from ducts in the inner bark;it is tapped in the hot season when the trees are stressed. Tapping begins when trees are 4 - 5 years old, commencing after leaf fall and ceasing during the colder months of the dry season. Gum nodules form in 3 - 8 weeks, exuding from the former broken abscission scars. Care should be taken to keep the gum clean. Annual yields stand at 188 - 2,856g for young trees and 379 - 6,754g for older trees . Gum production is excellent on poor soils and higher in stressed trees. 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.