Summary ³

Senegalia senegal (formerly Acacia senegal) is a small deciduous Acacia tree from the genus Senegalia, known by the common names Rfaudraksha, Gum Acacia, Gum Arabic Tree, or Gum Senegal Tree. It is native to semi-desert regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Oman, Pakistan, and northwestern India. It grows to a height of 5-12m, with a trunk up to 30 cm in diameter.S. senegal is the source of the world's highest quality gum arabic, known locally as...

Description ⁴

Slender tree with long erect, straggly branches. Hooked prickles in threes at the nodes; lateral prickles pointing down, the middle one pointing upwards. Leaves up 6 × 6 cm with 3-5 pairs of pinnae, bearing grey-green leaflets. Flowers in axillary spikes, white, appearing before the leaves. Pod linear-oblong, up to 9 × 2 cm, mostly straight, flat, papery to somewhat leathery, rounded or pointed at the apex but not distinctly beaked, pale brown, dehiscent. See A. senegal var. rostrata for comparison.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Rob Burrett, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/images/12/126190-1.jpg
2. (c) Rob Burrett, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/images/12/126190-5.jpg
3. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_senegal
4. (c) Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten and Petra Ballings, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/19237933

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• World Flora Online

iNat Map