FabaceaeBotanyEnglish: Marabou Thorn.
Region: tropical Africa, Senegal to Somalia, Angola, Mozambique; east Asia, India to Indonesia; Australia.
Habitat: poor, occasionally clayey soils, in brushwood, thickets, hedges, teak forest and grassland to elevations of 2000 metres; forms widespread thickets by means of root suckers; moist areas, arid areas as well; daytime temperatures range 15 - 40°c, not frost tolerant; annual rainfall in the range 300 - 500mm, but tolerates 200 - 600mm; soils from clays, through loams to sandy, well-drained, poor, saline soils, acidity from 5 - 8, tolerating 4.5 - 8.5; very drought resistant; shallow soils, arid western and subhumid alluvial plains; highly degraded calcareous wastelands.
Content: essential oil, geraniol (18.2%) and terpinen-4-ol (7.5%); seedpods can yield 9% tannin.
Culture: aggressive weedy character, invasive.
Use: multi-purpose tree, providing food, medicines, fuel and various commodities; for soil stabilization, ravine reforestation, reclamation projects; ornamental garden; wood for fuel; dune stabilization, ravine reforestation, erosion control; leaves as green manure; hedges, barriers, enclosures; fences; debarked roots for strong plaiting work, racks, baskets; gum of good quality for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food industries; effective larvicide; energy crop, biomass; walking sticks, handles, spears, tool handles.
BotanyDeciduous or semi-deciduous, slow-growing shrub or small tree with an open crown; from 1 to 8 even 12 metres tall; covered with spines, suckering, thicket-forming; suckers freely, has moderately vigorous coppicing ability and can also be pollarded and lopped; has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, in nodules on the roots, fixing atmospheric nitrogen.
Wood: heartwood is red or dark purple with darker streaks; sapwood is yellowish-brown with dark streaks; grain is straight or slightly interlocked; the texture rather fine and even; medium heavy to very heavy, hard, durable; presumably resistant to the attacks of termites, dense, burns slowly with few sparks and emits a non-toxic smoke, excellent firewood; charcoal.
Flowers: beautiful pink and yellow lantern flowers.
Fruit: a narrow, yellow or brown seedpod, containing about 4 small black seeds.
Taxonomy: complex species; treated as several distinct species, has many synonyms.