''Senegalia laeta'', the gay acacia or daga, is a
legume found in the family
Fabaceae. It was formerly included in the genus ''Acacia''.
Description
''Senegalia laeta'' is a perennial shrub or small tree growing to a height of 4–10 m with a greyish-green bark looking blackish from a distance, with a pink slash. The leaves are twice-pinnate, i.e. the pinnate leaves are further divided pinnately, the leaflets are 1–4 cm long, with 2-5 pairs of
pinnae
The auricle or auricula is the visible part of the ear that is outside the head. It is also called the pinna (Latin for "wing" or " fin", plural pinnae), a term that is used more in zoology.
Structure
The diagram shows the shape and location ...
and 2-5 pairs of leaflets per pinna; leaflets are oblong and asymmetrical, measuring 6-1.2 x 0.3-0.5 cm, greyish green and almost hairless. These leaves distinguish ''Senegalia laeta'' from the related
sympatric species such as ''
Senegalia dudgeoni'', ''
Senegalia senegal
''Senegalia senegal'' (also known as ''Acacia senegal'') is a small thorny deciduous tree from the genus '' Senegalia'', which is known by several common names, including gum acacia, gum arabic tree, Sudan gum and Sudan gum arabic. In parts of I ...
'', ''
Senegalia gourmaensis'' and ''
Senegalia mellifera
''Senegalia mellifera'' is a common thorn tree in Africa. The name ''mellifera'' refers to its sweet-smelling blossoms and honey. Its lumber turns pitch black when oiled. Common names of the tree include Blackthorn and Swarthaak (Afrikaans). I ...
'' by its leaves. The thorns are paired and consist of recurved axillary prickles, with an occasional a third prickle recurved forward, if the third thorn is absent it is normally replaced with a leaf. The flowers are creamy white and very fragrant, with three flowers set on a stalk with multiple stalks growing on a spike. The pale brown leathery pods are pointed, whereas those of ''Seneglia senegal'' are not and this character is an easy feature to distinguish these ''Senegalia laeta'' from that species.
[Heuzé V., Thiollet H., Tran G., Lebas F., 2018. Black-hooked acacia (Senegalia laeta). Feedipedia, a programme by INRA, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO. https://www.feedipedia.org/node/348 Last updated on February 12, 2018, 11:44]
Distribution
''Senegalia laeta'' is native to
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, including the
Sahara as far south as
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
, the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
, and
Western Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...
.
Uses
Parts of the tree are used for dyestuff
A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution and ...
. The tree is used for fodder; the foliage and seed pods make good forage
Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used ...
for livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...
and the tree stands up well to this use.[
It produces an edible gum which is used to make ]gum arabic
Gum arabic, also known as gum sudani, acacia gum, Arabic gum, gum acacia, acacia, Senegal gum, Indian gum, and by other names, is a natural gum originally consisting of the hardened sap of two species of the ''Acacia'' tree, '' Senegalia se ...
but is not as good quality as the gum Arabic extracted from ''Senegalia senegal''. It is harvested at the end of the rainy season when the gum is exuded from the bark and branches and collected by scraping, the bark is sometimes cut to increase production.[
]
Taxonomy
Formerly included in the genus '' Acacia'' it has now been reassigned with many African species of acacia to the genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
''Senegalia
''Senegalia'' (from Senegal and ''Acacia senegal'' (L.) Willd.) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the Mimosoid clade. Until 2005, its species were considered members of ''Acacia.''
The genus was considered poly ...
''.[
]
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q28936635
laeta
Laeta was the second Empress consort of Gratian of the Western Roman Empire.
Family
The only relation of Laeta mentioned by Zosimus was her mother Pissamena. Zosimus, "''Historia Nova'', Book five, 1814 translation by Green and Chaplin
Empres ...
Flora of North Africa
Flora of West Tropical Africa
Flora of Western Asia
Trees of Africa
Flora of Egypt
Flora of Libya
Flora of Eritrea
Flora of Algeria
Forages