Acacia nilotica - Gum Arabic Tree - Flowers of Tamilnadu

❏ Binomial Name : Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile
❏ Synonym : Mimosa nilotica, Acacia arabica, Mimosa scorpioides
❏ Family : Leguminosae
❏ Common Name : Gum Arabic Tree
❏ Tamil Name : Karivelam
❏ Hindi Name : Babul
❏ IUCN status : Not Evaluated

Acacia nilotica Botanical Description

Trees, bark black with deep narrow longitudinal fissures, running spirally up the tree, exudation gummy; blaze pinkish-brown; branchlets blackish or greyish, smooth. Leaves bipinnate, alternate, stipulate; stipular spines in pairs, straight, slender, white with grey spots; rachis 5-7 cm, slender, pulvinate, grooved above, pubescent; pinnae 4-9 pairs, 1.5-3 cm, slender, with a gland near the lowermost pinnae on upper side, pubescent; leaflets 20-40, opposite, sessile; lamina linear, oblong or linear-oblong, base oblique, apex obtuse, margin entire, glabrous, chartaceous; midrib more or less central, lateral nerves obscure. Flowers bright yellow, axillary peduncle; involucre of 2 bracteoles near or above the mid peduncle; calyx campanulate, glabrescent, teeth triangular to ovate; corolla 2.5-3.5 mm long, often puberulous, lobes oblong to ovate; stamens many, 4.5-5 mm long, filaments basally connate; ovary terete, stipitate, puberulous. Fruit a pod, flattened, strap-shaped, straight to slightly curved, deeply constricted between seeds, bullate over seeds, beaked at apex; densely grey-felted, glaucous, greyish-green, turning black on drying, attenuate at base into stipe, dehiscent; seeds 8-13, black. Fl. &Fr.: July-October

Acacia nilotica Medicinal uses

❀ Acacia Nilotica is a good herbal treatment for curbing and preventing Brain related ailments like Meningitis.
❀ Wood is very hard, durable and preferred for agricultural implements. Cattle feed on the fruits.
❀ Acacia Nilotica is a good herbal treatment for Eye ailments like Conjunctivitis.
❀ It is a good herbal treatment in curing the Urinary disorders like inflammation during Urination, infections of the Urinary Tract and Piles.

You can also add your pictures in this website. What you can do is send your pictures along with the information contain where and when you took to this given mail id flowersoftamilnadu@gmail.com Thank You

If you have any comments about the site or the pictures, good or bad, we'd like to hear from you. Please do comments!