Acacia laeta

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Abelmoschus moschatus
Acacia aneura
Acacia angustissima
Acacia aulacocarpa
Acacia auriculiformis
Acacia catechu
Acacia cincinnata
Acacia crassicarpa
Acacia elatior
Acacia erioloba
Acacia etbaica
Acacia ferruginea
Acacia glauca
Acacia holosericea
Acacia karroo*
Acacia koa
Acacia laeta
Acacia lahai
Acacia leptocarpa
Acacia leucophloea
Acacia mangium
Acacia mearnsii*
Acacia melanoxylon
Acacia mellifera
Acacia nilotica subsp nilotica
Acacia pachycarpa
Acacia pennatula
Acacia polyacantha ssp. polyacantha
Acacia saligna
Acacia senegal
Acacia seyal
Acacia sieberiana
Acacia tortilis
Acacia xanthophloea
Acrocarpus fraxinifolius
Adansonia digitata
Adenanthera pavonina
Aegle marmelos
Afzelia africana
Afzelia quanzensis
Agathis macrophylla
Agathis philippinensis
Ailanthus altissima
Ailanthus excelsa
Ailanthus triphysa
Albizia adianthifolia
Albizia amara
Albizia anthelmintica
Albizia chinensis
Albizia coriaria
Albizia ferruginea
Albizia gummifera
Albizia julibrissin
Albizia lebbeck
Albizia odoratissima
Albizia procera
Albizia saman
Albizia versicolor
Albizia zygia
Aleurites moluccana
Allanblackia floribunda
Allanblackia stuhlmannii
Allanblackia ulugurensis
Alnus acuminata
Alnus cordata
Alnus japonica
Alnus nepalensis
Alnus rubra
Alphitonia zizyphoides
Alstonia boonei
Alstonia congensis
Alstonia scholaris
Altingia excelsa
Anacardium occidentale
Andira inermis
Annona cherimola
Annona muricata
Annona reticulata
Annona senegalensis
Annona squamosa
Anogeissus latifolia
Anthocephalus cadamba
Antiaris toxicaria
Antidesma bunius
Araucaria bidwillii
Araucaria cunninghamii
Arbutus unedo
Areca catechu
Arenga pinnata
Argania spinosa
Artemisia annua
Artocarpus altilis
Artocarpus camansi
Artocarpus heterophyllus
Artocarpus integer
Artocarpus lakoocha
Artocarpus mariannensis
Asimina triloba
Ateleia herbert-smithii
Aucomea klaineana
Averrhoa bilimbi
Averrhoa carambola
Azadirachta excelsa
Azadirachta indica
Azanza garckeana

Local names:
Arabic (subahi,shubahi,kitr achbash), Tigrigna (kenteb)

Acacia laeta is a shrub or small tree 4-10 m tall with fissured, grey-green bark that seems to be black when seen from a distance and a rounded crown. Young branchlets glabrous, grey-brown or rarely purplish. Stipules not spinescent. Prickles in pairs, claw-shaped, just below each node, purplish-black or black, hooked, 3-5.5 mm long, recurved, sometimes with a third intermediate prickle which is curved towards the top. Where the intermediate prickle is missing, there is often a leaf in its place. Slash pink.

Leaves  bipinnate with 3-5 pairs of fairly large pinnate leaflets and 2-5 pairs of pinnae; petiole 0.6-2 cm. The leaflets are 4-15 (20) cm long, 2-7 (10) mm wide, obliquely obovate-elliptic or oblong, glabrous or puberulous, venose, rounded to mucronate or subacute, medium sized and clearly separated from each other and asymmetric. Gland often present near petiole base. Rachis glands present between two pairs of pinnae.

Flowers in racemes, small, very fragrant, yellow, white or cream, in 3-8 cm long spikes, pedunculate, subsessile, bundled in triplets. Stamens are conspicuous and yellow; filaments 5-7 mm long.

Fruit a pale brown leathery pod, 3.5-8 x 1.7-2.8 cm, oblong, rounded to acuminate at apex, with lateral veins, dehiscent, apiculate, very flat, constricted with thickened margin, solitary or borne in tufts. Seeds few, subcircular to lenticular, 8-10 mm in diameter.

The generic name ‘acacia’ comes from the Greek word ‘akis’, meaning point or barb.

Ecology

A. laeta is resistant to drought and prefers stony or rocky sites.

Native range
Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Yemen, Republic of

Tree management

During the first two years weeds must be efficiently controlled, and the plantation must be protected from fire and livestock. The practice of stripping the bark should be discouraged as it frequently kills the tree.

Seeds storage behaviour is orthodox; long-term storage. On average, there are 8 500-10 000 seeds/kg.

A. laeta is resistant to drought and prefers stony or rocky sites.

Natural regeneration is poor in pure stands but occurs in neighbouring open spaces. Depending on the site of collection and age, pre-treatment of seed may be required. Fresh seed will germinate without pre-treatment coming up within 4-5 days. Older seeds should be soaked in hot water or treated with concentrated sulphuric acid before sowing. Growth in the nursery is fast and seedlings can be ready with in 3.5 months of sowing. Direct seeding is possible; cultivation in polythene pots in the nursery is practiced.

  The gum produced by A. laeta is edible.

Leaves and pods of the tree are browsed by livestock.

A. laeta is a suitable source of firewood and charcoal.

Fibre:  Bark is used for making ropes.

Timber:  Wood is used for local construction.

Tannin or dyestuff:  Animal skins are tanned using a watery solution derived form the bark of trees.

Wood of A. laeta is used to make fence posts. The tree can tolerate repeated browsing giving it a good potential as a hedging tree.