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GENERAL
Origin
:
sub-tropical,
tropical
Humidity
:
very arid, semi-
arid
Propagation :
sowing and
pricking out
Maintenance :
low
CONDITIONS
Urban climate :
resistant
Dessication :
resistant
Stagnant water :
vulnerable
Irrigation
:
low
Salinity/ppm :
high (3500 ppm)
Hardiness
:
-3°C
SHAPE
Type
:
tree, shrub
Height
:
2 m-12 m
Spread
:
3 m-14 m
Foliage
:
semi-evergreen
FLOWER
Colour
:
white
Size
:
1.7 cm
Period
:
March - April
FRUIT
Type of fruit :
pod
Fruit size
:
12 cm
A tree with a flat-topped or, when old, rounded crown and a pronounced trunk, A. etbaica grows
naturally in the coastal foothills of western Saudi Arabia on limestone and granite rocky slopes,
and in the sandy sediments of wadis. It is often predominant in the scrub vegetation of a semi-
desert. It has brown, fissured bark, and bears white flowers on few-flowered heads; branches,
leaves and seed pods are glabrous. The fruit is a purplish-red oblong pod, also shiny and straight.
The tree has several subspecies in Africa which have thorns that are straight, hooked or a mixture
of both. A. etbaica is a good source of firewood and timber. The bark has medicinal properties. As
with other indigenous acacias, and owing to its high drought tolerance, the tree has a landscape
value and can be planted in extensive landscape schemes, where a natural woodland setting is the
objective.
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Acacia etbaica,
Mimosaceae
Arad Acacia,
arad