Faidherbia albida
Faidherbia albida with maize and Borassus akeassii
The Anabaum ( Faidherbia albida, syn. Acacia albida Delile, Arabic زارح Haraz ) is the only species of the genus Faidherbia in the subfamily of the mimosa family ( Mimosoideae ) within the legume family ( Fabaceae ). This species originates from Africa and the Middle East, but has been introduced in India and Pakistan. The specific epithet albida refers to the whitish root of this type, the genus was named after the French general and governor of Senegal, Louis Faidherbe.
Description
It is a deciduous, thorny tree which reaches heights of growth of up to 30 m and forms an up to 40 m deep reaching tap root. The thorns are reformed stipules. The plant grows green only at the beginning of the dry season. The change-constant leaves are pinnate blue-green and double; with three to ten pairs of pinnate leaves first order of six to 23 pairs of leaflets of second order. The second-order leaflets from 3.5 to 9 × 0.7 to 3 millimeters in size and gray-green.
The aged men inflorescences 3.5 to 16 cm long with a diameter of 2 cm. The yellowish flowers are hermaphroditic. Five sepals form a 1 to 1.7 mm long calyx. The five free petals are 3 to 3.5 mm long. This type blooms from March to September. As pollinator insects were observed from the following groups: Scoliidae, Eumonidae ( Hymenoptera) and Lycanidae (Lepidoptera ).
The curved to twisted legumes are orange to reddish - brown, 10 to 35 cm long and 2-5 cm wide. Each legume contains 10-29 dark brown, ovate, light seeds that are 10 × 6.0 mm in size.
Use
The property to provide shade in the dry season, but also the nitrogen enrichment and fixing make the Faidherbia albida a popular tree in agroforestry systems in the Sahel and Sudan zone in the so-called evergreen agriculture. In addition, the tree loses its leaves during the rainy season, which then serve as nitrogenous fertilizers. The legumes are used as protein-rich animal feed, in southern Africa as food in times of need. However, the feeding of the animals also causes the seeds germinate when they have gone through the animal's digestive tract. Also, parts of the tree are used for medicinal and veterinary medicine.