Acacia leucophloea (Roxb.) Willd.

Family : Fabaceae

Synonym(s) : Mimosa leucophloea Roxb.

English Name : White-barked Acacia

Origin : South and South-East Asia

Description

A deciduous tree growing 10—35 m tall, with deep taproot, few secondary roots, pale bark and broadly umbelliform crown. Leaves bipinnate, pinnae 4—13 pairs, rachis 3.5—8.5 cm long; leaflets in 6—30 pairs, linear, 3—11 mm x 0.5—1.7 mm. Inflorescence yellowish-white subglobose heads, ca. 1 cm in diameter, in large terminal densely hairy panicles up to 30 cm long; peduncles 0.4—1.3 cm long. Flowers are sessile, calyx 0.8—1.2 mm, corolla 1.2—2 mm long; stamens 20—25. Fruit is a linear, slightly curved or straight pod, 6—15(—20) cm x 7—11 mm x 3 mm, woody, glabrescent, dark brown, 5—12(—20)-seeded, indehiscent. Seeds are very variable, orbicular, ellipsoid or trapezoid, 5.5—6.5 mm x 4—5 mm, compressed, greyish-brown.

Habitat

Occurs in areas with a pronounced East Monsoon, under semi-arid (rainfall 600 mm/year) to humid (2000 mm) conditions, at altitudes ranging from sea-level to 550 m, on sandy-marl to heavy clay-marl soils. In the wild, the tree occurs individually and sometimes in groups in heterogeneous, deciduous forests. It is never found in evergreen, closed forests on fertile soil.

Parts Used : Plant and bark

Herb Effects

As bitter and acrid (bark)

Active Ingredients

Beta-amyrin, myricetin, tannin, HCN (plant)

Medicinal Use

Used in treating diseases of the blood, inflammations, bronchitis and as native medicine in leprotic conditions; boiled with red earth and applied locally on the body to treat heart pain (bark).

Reference