PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
No image available
Fabaceae FAMILY

Vachellia nilotica

Vachellia nilotica

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
3/5

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

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthFast

Gum arabic succeeds in subtropical to tropical lowland areas and at elevations up to 1,300 metres[1]. It thrives in areas with an annual rainfall in the range of 400 - 2,300mm[1]. It is reported to tolerate an annual mean temperature in the range of 19 - 28°c, though it can grow at extreme conditions of temperature[1]. It does not tolerate frost when young[1]. Requires a sunny position[1]. Succeeds in a range of soils, including heavy clay soils and saline conditions[1]. It tolerates a pH ranging from 5.0 - 8.0[1]. It will tolerate drought or flooded conditions for several months of the year and can be grown in marginal land[1]. The tree has escaped from cultivation and become established in the wild in many areas outside its native range. It is classed as 'Invasive' in several areas, including Australia and some Pacific Islands[2]. In a suitable environment, plants can spread very quickly by means of their seeds[1]. Regular monitoring of any stands is necessary to prevent the plant becoming a nuisance[1]. The plant is considered to be a serious weed in S. Africa[3]. Trees flower and produce seedpods abundantly by the time they are 5 - 7 years old[4]. In India, a plantation of about 600 plants per hectare produced around 12 tonnes of bark for tannins after 15 years of planting[1]. In Sudan, a tree yields about 18 kg of de-seeded pods per year, and the yield of gum can be up to 0.9 kg/year, though it is usually much less[1]. The yield of gum decreases as a tree gets older[1]. The tree has a deep and extensive root system[4]. 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[5].

Propagation

Seed - best sown when fresh and still moist. Seeds can be extracted from the pods, while seeds that are ejected by sheep during rumination or those from cattle and goat droppings may also be collected. These latter seeds germinate easily due to fermentation and moistening which soften the seedcoat[4]. If not sown when moist, the seed develops a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing 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. The germination rate of moist or treated seed generally varies from 50 - 90%, it usually starts 1 - 3 weeks after sowing and is mostly complete in one month[4]. Seeds can be sown directly in the field, or they can first be sown in nurseries and the seedlings transplanted to the field later. For direct sowing, ridge-sowing is recommended, with a sowing rate of 1 kg per ha[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Vachellia+nilotica>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  2. [2]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
  3. [3]Handbook of Energy Crops — Duke. J. · - · 1983 · https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html · ISBN - ↩︎Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants.
  4. [4]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  5. [5]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  6. [6]Seed Leaflets — Various · Forest & Landscape. Denmark · http://en.sl.life.ku.dk/Publikationer/Udgivelser/PopulaerPublikationer.aspx?katid={D28373CC-6EF3-4EF8-B097-6D83FABF209E}&serieid={9F1C3DB1-6E7B-4CF1-AF53-F480B0CB40EF}&sort=title ↩︎A series of leaflets, jointly produced by the University of Copenhagen and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, focussing on seed information for a number species, but also giving a lot of other information about each plant.
  7. [7]Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. — Barwick. M. · Thames & Hudson, London · 2004 · ISBN 0-500-51181-0 ↩︎A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
  8. [8]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  9. [9]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]Oil Yielding Plants — Botanical Survey of India. · 2004 · http://mnes.nic.in/list/oil-plants.pdf ↩︎A PDF downloaded from the Internet. Very terse details about the applications of oil obtained from over 300 species of plants.
  11. [11]Inhibition of Meliodogyne incognita Egg Hatching by Herbal Extracts — Elbadri G.A.A.; Dong Woon Lee; Jung Chan Park; Ho Yul Choo; · 2008 ↩︎