Senegalia polyphylla
Senegalia polyphylla
Safety & Hazards
Especially in times of drought, many Acacia species can concentrate high levels of the toxin Hydrogen cyanide in their foliage, making them dangerous for herbivores to eat.
Cultivation Details
Requires a sunny position[1]. Succeeds in poor, dry and stony soils[1]. Established plants are drought tolerant[1]. A very fast-growing tree, able to reach a height of 4 - 5 metres within 2 years from seed[1]. 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.
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a partially shaded position in a nursery seedbed or in individual containers. A germination rate in excess of 90% for fresh seed can be expected, with the seed sprouting within 4 - 8 days[1]. When the seedbed-sown seedlings are 3 - 5cm tall, pot them up into individual containers and they should be ready to plant out less than 4 months later[1]. Like many species within the family Fabaceae , once they have been dried for storage the seeds of this species may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing[PFAF]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Senegalia+polyphylla>
Pollinators
Insects
References
- [1]Brazilian Trees. Volume 1. 4th Edition. — Lorenzi. H. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora; Brazil. · 2002 · ISBN 85-86714-17-8 ↩︎Information on 350 species of Brazilian trees. Stunning photographs of each species, brief details on the plant, its uses and how to grow it from seed. A superb work, with the minor irritation that the translation from Portuguese is not of the best.
- [2]Technical Information on 134 Species of Bolivian Woods — USDA Forest Service -- Forest Products Lab · USDA Forest Service · http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/publications/ ↩︎A PDF file, available for download. Exactly what the title says, brief and to the point.
- [3]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
- [4]The Useful Native Plants of Australia. — Maiden J.H. · Turner & Co.; London. · 1889 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Terse details of the uses of many Australian plants and other species naturalised, or at least growing, in Australia. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
- [5]Woods of Northeastern Peru — Williams L. · Field Museum Press; Chicago. · 1936 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎Gives information on the properties of the wood of well over 1,000 species of woody plants from northeastern Peru. Can be downloaded from the Internet.
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎