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Acacia ehrenbergiana
Also called Salam
Vachellia flava, synonym Acacia ehrenbergiana, is a species of drought-resistant bush or small tree, commonly known as salam in Arabic. It is found in the Sahara, the northern Sahel, parts of East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
Vachellia flava is native to the central and southern Sahara and the northern part of the Sahel but is uncommon in the western Sahara. It also occurs in East Africa and Arabia. It is a very drought-tolerant species and can survive in areas with a rainfall range of between 50 and 400 millimetres (2.0 and 15.7 in) per annum. It is typically found growing in shallow depressions and gullies, positions where water can be expected to seep into the ground on the rare occasions when rain falls. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the plant as being of "Least Concern" as it is common across its large range, the population is stable and it is often the dominant vegetation type in the areas in which it grows. Nevertheless, it is important that it is not over-exploited because of its importance to indigenous people.
The foliage of Vachellia flava is used for livestock feed and the trees are sometimes pollarded for this purpose. It is an important fodder plant for camels, goats and sheep and the flowers are visited by bees which make "acacia honey" from the nectar. The timber is used for charcoal and firewood, the bark for fibre to be wound into ropes, and the sap produces a low quality gum which oozes from damaged parts of the trunk. An ointment is made from the plant's ground up tissues.
Vachellia albicorticata · Vachellia aroma var. aroma · Vachellia aroma var. huarango · Vachellia bucheri · Vachellia caven var. caven · Vachellia caven var. dehiscens · Vachellia caven var. microcarpa · Vachellia caven var. stenocarpa · Vachellia cernua · Vachellia haematoxylon · Vachellia kirkii · Vachellia leucophloea
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Vachellia flava by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
