''Senegalia polyacantha'', also known as white thorn, is a flowering tree which can grow up to 25m tall. ''Polyacantha'' has the meaning "many thorns" in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
.
[PlantZAfrica.com](_blank)
/ref> The tree 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 ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
, the Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...
and Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...
, but it has also been introduced to the Caribbean.
Uses
Repellent uses
The root of ''Senegalia polyacantha'' subsp. ''campylacantha'' emits chemical compound
A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one ele ...
s that repel animals including rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' ( pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandico ...
s, snakes and crocodile
Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant ...
s.
Gum
The tree's gum is used in the manufacture
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ra ...
of candy
Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies ( Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called '' sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, ...
.
Medicinal purposes
''Senegalia polycanthas roots and perhaps its bark have medicinal uses. The root extract is useful for snakebite
A snakebite is an injury caused by the bite of a snake, especially a venomous snake. A common sign of a bite from a venomous snake is the presence of two puncture wounds from the animal's fangs. Sometimes venom injection from the bite may oc ...
s
Tannin
The bark is useful for tanning
Tanning may refer to:
* Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
* Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
** Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
** Sunless tanning, application of a stain or d ...
.
Wood
The tree's primary use is for wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of ligni ...
.
References
External links
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polyacantha
Trees of Africa
{{Mimosoideae-stub