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View crop Data sheet EcoPortFaidherbia albida
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| Notes |
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| DESCRIPTION: It is one of the largest deciduous thorn trees, reaching up to 30 m in height, with spreading branches and a rounded crown. Bark rough and dark brown, or smooth and greenish-grey. The roots can grow to 40 m deep. Leaves with 3-10 pairs of pinnae, each bearing 6-23 pairs of leaflets; leaflets quite large, 3.5-9 x 0.7-3 mm, grey-green. Flowers in slender, creamy white spikes, 4-14 cm long. USE: During the dry season, people eat the seeds. The leaves and pods are palatable to domestic animals and an important source of protein for livestock in the dry season. Wood is used for small implements and fuel. The use of bark and roots either externally or internally against respiratory infections, digestive disorders, malaria and other fevers is widespread. The bark is used to clean teeth, as it is believed to contain fluorine. An extract is used for toothache in humans and eye infections in livestock. The tree is planted for shade for coffee and livestock, to protect the banks of watercourses and as an ornamental. Branches lopped for fencing compounds and livestock enclosures. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. COMMON NAMES: winter thorn. FURTHER INF: It grows on the banks of seasonal and perennial rivers and streams on coarse-textured, well-drained, sandy alluvial soils or on flat land. It thrives in climates characterized by long summers, or a dry season with long days. It tolerates seasonal waterlogging and salinity but cannot withstand heavy clayey soils. | Sources |
| Grassland Index - In Ecocrop and Index as synonym of Acacia albida (Faidherbia albida). ICRAF Agroforestree Database (08.05.02) E6082 |