Botanical description
A thorny tree that reaches a height of more than 10 meters, and is known in some Arab countries as Talh. It grows naturally in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula, Sudan, and East Africa in dry and semi-arid areas. The stem is smooth (there are multiple colors of the stem, including red, yellow, and green). The branches are widespread, and the thorns are (1-4 cm). The leaves are compound, pinnate, double (1-6 pairs) of pinnate, and each pinnate has (12-20 pairs) of leaflets. The flowers are yellow, gathered in a spherical inflorescence (1.5-2 cm). The fruit is a long pod (12 cm), crescent-shaped, thin, and brown in color. The seeds are…
Oval-shaped, greenish-brown in color. There is a type of this tree that grows in southwestern Saudi Arabia. The trunk is covered with an outer layer of fine white powder.
Flowering
Flowering begins in late January, and the fruit sets a month after the beginning of flowering. The flowering period lasts for four months. The fruit is harvested in mid-April. (Note that the harvesting process should take place immediately after the fruit ripens and the seeds are treated with an insecticide after extraction before storage.)
Because it is infected with some beetles.
multiply
Propagation is done by treated seed.
Pour boiling water over it and leave it for 24 hours. The seed can be treated.
With sulfuric acid.
Benefits and Uses
A tree that tolerates severe drought and frost, it is planted as a windbreak and afforestation. The tree produces gum, from which tannin is extracted for tanning leather. Its wood is important in fuel and charcoal production. Its pulp is suitable for producing writing and printing paper, provided that it is mixed with a long-fibered pulp. It can be used to produce newspaper without mixing it with any other pulp. It is used on a large scale to feed cows, sheep and goats in the dry season, and it has medicinal benefits in some countries. Its flowers have a pleasant scent and are valuable in honey production (its honey is known as “bala honey” or “thorn honey”).