Acacia oerfota (Bekele-Tesemma, 2007)
From PlantUse English
| Acacia oerfota (Bekele-Tesemma, 2007) |
Acacia oerfota (A. nubica) (Fabaceae, indigenous)
habit
habit
leaf, flowers, fruit
fruits
Common names
- Agewgna: Chellegama
- Oromugna: Ajo, Wangay, Wanga
- Somaligna: Gumero, Gumara, Gummr, Gomur
- Tigrigna: Gamorot, Laud, Leaw, Ood
Ecology
Commonly occurs in deciduous bushland and semi‑desert scrub from Egypt, the Sudan and Eritrea and into Kenya. In Ethiopia it is mainly found in Dry and Moist Kolla and Bereha agroclimatic zones of Bale, Shoa, Harerge, Welo, the Afar plains, Tigray and Sidamo regions, 100– 1,600 m.
Uses
Firewood, poles (hut frames), medicine (bark), fodder (leaves, twigs, pods), fibre (bark).
Description
A shrub to 5 m, branching from the base, irregular or flat topped.
- BARK: Grey-white but a green underbark with an unpleasant smell if cut.
- THORNS: Short, conical and thick about 2 cm, often pointing backwards.
- LEAVES: Compound, leaf stalk only 2–4 cm with 2–8 pairs of pinnae, all parts sometimes hairy.
- FLOWERS: Round, several together, white-cream-green, others pink-red.
- FRUIT: Pods usually straight, yellow-brown-grey, 6–13 cm, edge winged, the surface softly hairy. Pods break open to release small flat green-grey seeds.
Propagation
Seedlings
Seed
- Treatment: Soak in cold water overnight.
- Storage: Can be stored.
Management
Coppicing, pollarding, lopping. First height pruning will ease movement of people and livestock. It improves the stalk quality.
Remarks
A bark extract is used to treat rheumatism.
