Vachellia leucophloea

Vachellia leucophloea
Flowering in Vanasthalipuram, Hyderabad
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Vachellia
Species: V. leucophloea
Binomial name
Vachellia leucophloea
(Roxb.) Maslin, Seigler & Ebinger
varieties
  • Vachellia leucophloea var. leucophloea (Roxb.) Maslin, Seigler & Ebinger
  • Vachellia leucophloea var. microcephala (Kurz) Maslin, Seigler & Ebinger
Synonyms
  • Acacia leucophloea (Roxb.) Willd.
  • Mimosa leucophloea Roxb.
  • Kuteera-gum

Vachellia leucophloea (Hindi: रेवंजा), also called reonja, is a moderate sized tree found in southern India. It is sometimes mistaken for Prosopis cineraria with spreading crown and somewhat malformed and crooked trunk. It attains a height of about 20 to 30 ft and a girth of 2 to 3 ft. New leaves appear in April, and yellowish white flowers appear from August to October. The pods ripe by April and the seeds germinate readily if moisture is available. The tree is very hardy and stands drought well. It is frost hardy except in young age. It coppices well and produces good root suckers. It suffers from goat browsing particularly in early stage. Fruits are thin, flat, curved tomentose pods (difference from Prosopis cineraria).

Medicinal uses

The bark extracts of Vachellia leucophloea are used in Pakistan traditional medicine as an astringent, a bitter, a thermogenic, a styptic, a preventive of infections, an anthelmintic, a vulnery, a demulcent, an expectorant, an antipyretic, an antidote for snake bites and in the treatment of bronchitis, cough, vomiting, wounds, ulcers, diarrhea, dysentery, internal and external hemorrhages, dental caries, stomatitis, and intermittent fevers and skin diseases[1] An ethanolic extract ointment has shown marked wound healing activity in trials.[2]

Culinary uses

The bark is used to prepare a spirit from sugar and palm-juice, and in times of scarcity it is ground and mixed with flour. The pods are used as a vegetable, and the seeds can be ground and mixed with flour.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Imran Imran, Liaqat Hussain, M. Zia-Ul-Haq, Khalid Hussain Janbaz, Anwar H. Gilani, Vincenzo De Feo, "Gastrointestial and respiratory activities of Acacia leucophloea." Journal of Ethnopharmacology Volume 138, Issue 3: Pages 676-682.
  2. ↑ Suriyamoorthy, Sembian; Subramaniam, Kalidass; Wahab, Femina; Karthikeyan, G (December 2012). "Evaluation of wound healing activity of Acacia leucophloea bark in rats". Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia. 22 (6): 1338–1343. doi:10.1590/S0102-695X2012005000121.
  3. ↑ Sturtevant's notes on edible plants. 1919. p. 19.
  • R N Kaul (1963): Need for afforestation in the arid zones of India, LA-YAARAN, Vol 13
  • R C Ghosh (1977): Hand book on afforestation techniques, Dehradun.
  • R K Gupta & Ishwar Prakasah (1975): Environmental analysis of the Thar Desert, Dehradun.


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