Egyptian thorn, Scented-pod acacia

Where does Egyptian thorn grow?

Found in: Africa, Algeria, Andamans, Angola, Antigua-Barbuda, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Caribbean, Central Africa, Chad, China, Cuba, East Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guinea-Bissau, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mediterranean, Middle East, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Africa, North America, Oman, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Sahel, SE Asia, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, United States, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Notes: There are about 1,350 Acacia species. Over 1,000 occur in Australia. Pods contain 30% tannins useful for tanning leather. The bark, leaf and gum are used for medicine. It has anticancer properties. Also as Mimosaceae.

Growing Egyptian thorn, Scented-pod acacia

Cultivation: Plants are grown from seed. There are 6,000-11,000 seeds per kg. Bad and insect damaged seeds can be floated off in water. For fresh seeds, seed treatment is no necessary. For dry stored seed the hard seed coat needs to be broken. Normally this is by putting the seeds in very hot water and letting the water cool down overnight then planting the seeds immediately. It can be done by scratching the seed. Seed stores well if kept in a cool dry insect free place.

Edible Uses: The pulp in the pod is eaten. It is also boiled in water and sugar added to make a drink, The young pods can be used as a vegetable or the seeds fried and eaten alone. The gum is edible and used for sweets. It is mixed with sesame seeds and fried in ghee. It is eaten fresh or roasted. It is used in the preparation of candied flowers. The flowers are made into fritters. A bark is used to make wine. The bark is also eaten with meat soup.

Production: It is a reasonably fast growing tree. It can be cut back and allowed to regrow.

Nutrition Info

References

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