ACACIA. 



Jlalk with two deprefled glands in the upper part. Flower- 

 Jlalks either axillary, or terminal and racemofe, more or lefs 

 aggregate, each bearing a globular head, of yellow fweet- 

 icented^fioitfers. We know nothing of the legume. 



A. horr'ida. Avvl-thorned Acacia. Willd. n. 79, ex- 

 cluding the fynonym of Jacquin, and perhaps Forflcall. 

 (A. maderafpatana, foliolis parvis, aculeis e regione binis 

 praegrandibus horrida, cortice cinereo ; Pluk. Phyt. t. 121. 

 f. 4. A. eburnea ; Ait. n. 46, but not of Willd. Mimofa 

 horrida; Linn. Sp. PI. 1505. Vahl Symb. v. i. 81 J M. 

 eburnea; Roxb. Coromand. v. 2. 54. t. 199.) — Spines fti- 

 pulary, in pairs, linear-awllhaped, angular, fpreading, longer 

 than the leaves ; fome much (horter and recurved. Leaves 

 doubly pinnate ; firft divifion of two or three pair ; fecond 

 ■of many pair ; leaflets crowded, on a hairy ftalk. Heads 

 axillary, llalked, aggregate. — Native of the Eaft Indies, 

 flowering in the cold feafon, fent by Dr. Roxburgh to fir 

 Jofeph Banks in 1792. This is a fmall ill-looking tree, or 

 large bulhy _^r«i, whofe branches fpread in every direftion, 

 and are round, purplifh, wavy, very rigid, armed with for- 

 midable thorns, of various fizes. Some of the latter are two 

 inches long, white, fpreading horizontally in oppofite direc- 

 tions, fcarcely combined at the bafe, much more flender and 

 linear than in the A. eburnea, flat or channelled along their 

 upper fide ; when young they are much fmaller, needle-like, 

 and hairy : others, on the fame branch, and of the fame age, 

 with the large ones, are very (hort and hooked. The leaves 

 are not half the fize of the laft fpecies. Heads oi Jloivers 

 globofe, with a purpliih corolla, and yeUowJlamens. Legume 

 linear, twifted, two inches long, fmooth. The flowers are 

 faid by Dr. Roxburgh to be leparated from each other, on 

 their globofe receptacle, by 'abrupt, fringed, chaffy fcales, 

 of which we can find no traces in our fpecimens. 



A. tortuofa. Poponax Acacia. Willd. n. 82. (A. ame- 

 ricana, filiquis teretibus ventricofis, floribus luteis ; Sloane 

 Jam. V. 2. 56. Mimofa tortuofa ; Linn. Sp. PI. 1505. 

 Swartz Obf. 391. Browne Jam. 251. n. i.) — Spines ftipu- 

 lary, in pairs, awl-fliaped, much fliorter than the leaves, 

 round, downy. Leaves doubly pinnate ; firft divifion of 

 three or four pair ; fecond of many pair ; leaflets crow^ded, 

 on a downy ftalk. Heads axillary, on downy ftalks, foli- 

 tary or in pairs. Legume externally fle/hy. — Very common 

 in the low fandy lands of Jamaica. The Jlem is fhrubby, 

 with fpreading wavy branches, rendering the plant ufeful for 

 hedges according to Dr. Svrartz ; but Browne fpeaks of it 

 as of little fervice, the fmell of every part being fo rank 

 and difagreeable, that it cannot be ufed even for iire-wood. 

 The tafte is bitter, and xhcjloiaers have an opprefiive fmell. 

 Both thefe authors mention the legumes as furnifhed with a 

 glutinous juice under their fliin, whofe qualities are eminently 

 bitter and aftringent. Sloane appears to confound the A. 

 Farnefana and others with this fpecies. The true tiriuofa, 

 of which we have Browne's own fpecimen, comes near to 

 korr'ida in botanical charafters, but the leaves and leaflets are 

 much larger ; thorns fmaller, not angular, but more taper- 

 ing ; jloiver-Jlalhs downy, not fmooth. There are no fcales 

 on the receptacle between \h<i f.o-wers, but the teeth of the 

 long tubulai- calyx are very denfely and finely fringed. Dr. 

 Swartz fays this is the tree really called Poponax in Jamaica, 

 Browne erroneoiifly attributing that name to A. juliflora. 

 Both are frequently met with in the fame fituations. 



A. farnejiana. Sponge Acacia. Willd. n. 83. Ait. 

 n. 47. (A. indica farnefiana ; Aldin. Hort. Farnef. 3. 

 t. 2. 4. Mimofa farnefiana; Linn. Sp. PI. 1506.) — Spines 

 iiipulai-y, in pairs, awl-/haped. Leaves doubly pinnate ; 

 firft; divifion of from five to eight pair ; fecond of many 

 pair ; leaflets crowded. Heads italked, axillary. Legume 



tumid, coriaceous.— Native of Hifpaniola, from whence the 

 feeds were brought to Italy, early in the 17th century, 

 i his thrub is occafionally feen in our ftoves, being efteemed 

 for the peculiarly delicious fcent of its balls of yellow 

 flowers, which are produced during fummer. A coloured 

 figure is much wanted. The dry tumid legume diftinguifties 

 It cleariy, as a fpecies, from the laft. The whole plant is 

 fmoother, nor have we ever obferved the herbage to be 

 foetid. ^ 



A. arabica. Eaft Indian Gum-Arabic Acacia. Willd. 

 n. 86. (A. altera vera, &c.; Pluk. Almag. 3. t. 251. f. i! 

 Mimofa arabica; Lamarck Did. v. i. 19. Roxb. Coro- 

 mand. V. 2. 26. t. 149. Nella Tooma of the Tehngas.) 



Spines ftipular)-, awl-fliaped, in pairs. Leaves doubly pin- 

 nate ; firft divifion of five pair ; fecond of many pair. 

 Heads axillary, about three together. Legume necklace- 

 like, flat, denfely downy. — Native of the Eaft Indies, whe- 

 ther of Arabia alfo may be doubted. Dr. Roxburgh 

 fays it is abundant over every part of India, thriving beft in 

 a low, ftiff', uncultivated foil, and flowering moft part of 

 the year. Befides yielding a great quantity of Gum Ara- 

 bic, this tree is one of the moft ufeful in India for its tough 

 and hard wood, ferving many valuable purpofes in ftiip- 

 building, wheel-carriages, &c. The aftringent bark ferves 

 for dyeing, and making ink. The branches are round. Spines 

 diftinft, an inch, more or lefs, in length. Leaves like feve- 

 ral of the foregoing, as are alfo the aggregate globular 

 heads of yellow _/?owifn-. But the legumes afford a moft ftrik- 

 ing charadler, being flat, four or five inches long, covered 

 with denfe hoary pubefcence, like fine velvet, and remark- 

 ably contmfted into numerous orbicular portions, in each of 

 which is lodged a Rattiih feed. Cattle are very fond of the 

 tender branches and young pods. 



A. vera. Egyptian Gum-Arabic Acacia. Willd. n. 87. 

 Ait. n. 48. Vefling -(Egypt. 6. t. 8. Bauh. Hift. v. i. 

 p. 2. 429. (Mimofa nilotica; Linn. Sp. PI. 1506. Haf- 

 felq. Travels, Engl. ed. 250. Woodv. Med. Bot. 187. 

 t. 67.) — Spines ftipulary, in pairs, hnear-awlftiaped. Leaves 

 doubly pinnate ; firft divifion of five or fix pair ; fecond of 

 many pair ; common ftalk glandular. Heads axillary, about 

 three together. Legume necklace-like, nearly flat, fmooth. 

 — Native of the fandy defarts of upper and lower Egypt, 

 from whence Haflelquift fent fpecimens to Linnaeus, who 

 feems to have defcribed the fame plant under the name 

 of Mimofa Senega!. This original Gum Arabic tree was 

 known to our earher botanifts, and Gerarde appears to have 

 cultivated it in his garden, whence it has obtained a place in 

 Mr. Aiton's valuable work ; but few perfons at prefent are 

 acquainted with living, or even dried, fpecimens, efpecially 

 of the legumes. Thefe clearly diftinguifli the fpecies, being 

 more ftriftly contrafted into orbicular portions than the laft, 

 with an obliquity well exprelTed in the wooden cut of Vef- 

 hngius. Their furface is brown, nearly or quite fmooth, 

 pale at the edges ; the di(k of each lobe rather tumid, from 

 the fwelling of the feeds. In the leaves or flowers of thefe 

 two fpecies, we cannot, from the dried fpecimens, deleft 

 any great difference ; but ihejpines of A. vera are almoft as 

 remarkable for their length and whitenefs as thofe of horrida. 

 For the moft valuable produce of this tree, fee Arabic, 

 Gum. 



Seft. 7. Leaves doubly pinnate. Prichles fcaitered. Eleven 

 fpecies in Willdenow. 



K.c^fia. Grey Acacia. Willd. n. 97. Ait. n. 49. (A. 

 fpinofa, india; orientalis, foliis fubtus ca;fiis, flonbus glo. 

 bofis luteis ; Pluk. Mant. J. Phyt. t. 330. f. 3. A. zey- 

 lanica farmentofa, fiore luteo globofo ; Burm. Zcyl. 3. 

 Mimofa cxfia; Lir.n. Sp. PI. IJ07.)— Branches and foot-, 



ftalks 



