The acacia tree is well known throughout the world, as it not only grows in most countries, but is also a symbol of some of them, as well as the object of many legends and works of art, literature.
The white or yellow clusters of this tree that are familiar to modern people, blooming in May, actually have a thousand-year history. Acacia adorned gardens and houses, used in medicine and religious ceremonies. Probably, there are no trees on the planet that have been more revered for many centuries by representatives of different civilizations and cultures than acacia. The photo cannot convey all the beauty and aroma of this plant, which today there are more than 800 species.
History of Acacia
The uniqueness of this tree was noticed by the ancient Egyptians, who believed that it simultaneously symbolizes both life and death, as it blooms with white and red flowers. It was for them a symbol of the sun god, reviving life. Neith, the goddess of war and hunting, lived in its crowns.
In many cultures, the acacia tree symbolized purity and purity, and the ancient inhabitants of the Mediterranean believed that its thorns drive away evil spirits, and decorated their homes with plucked branches. And the nomads who traveled through the Arabian desert considered it sacred and believed that whoever broke the branch of this tree would die within a year.
Acacia, which is described in the Torah, was a symbol of holiness for the ancient Jews. So Noah's ship, the altar of the Jewish Temple and the tabernacle in which the Ark of the Covenant was originally kept were made from its wood.
For Christians of the Middle Ages, this tree symbolized purity of thoughts and innocence, so houses were decorated with its branches. Acacia oil was used in rituals by various secret societies, and the priests smeared the altar and incense burners with it.
Growing places
The acacia tree belongs to the legume family and can reach 25-30 meters in height. The homeland of the plant is considered to be North America, although most of its species grow in the tropical and subtropical forests of Africa, Asia, Mexico and Australia.
Depending on the location, this plant can be both trees and tree-like bushes. It has been cultivated in European countries since the 18th century because of its healing properties, beauty and strong wood. Today, in many cities of Russia and the CIS, you can see its most common species - Robinia, which is known as white locust. The tree is able to withstand sub-zero temperatures as well as silver acacia, better known as mimosa. The real white locust growsexclusively in the rainforests of Africa.
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Regardless of where the plant grows, acacia has traits common to the entire family:
- She has a strong root system, the main root going to a great depth and branching closer to the soil surface. This helps the plant to extract not only water, but also useful trace elements.
- The trunk can reach a height of 12 to 30 meters with a girth of 1.2-2 m. The color of the bark varies from light gray when young to brown as it matures, and the structure has a surface with longitudinal barbs.
- Most acacias are distinguished by ovoid leaves, collected on a long petiole alternately from 7 to 21 pieces. The outer part of the leaf has a green tint, while the inner part can be silvery or grayish green. The presence of spines is also inherent in most representatives of this species, although there are instances in which they are completely absent.
- Acacia (the photo shows this) has large flowers of white or yellow color, collected in clusters, although there are also small inflorescences in the form of a panicle and even single buds.
- The fruit of the tree is a brown pod containing 5-6 beans. They are well known for their medicinal properties and are widely used in homeopathy.
These are traits common to most members of this species, although there are exceptions.
Acacia corkscrew
This is the most common tree in city parks and streets. Acacia thoughusually and grows quite quickly, reaching adulthood at an average speed of 40 years.
With a height of 20 m and a width of 1.2 m, it has an asymmetric crown and white flowers with a pleasant aroma, hanging in tassels up to 20 cm in length. Often a corkscrew acacia can have two trunks, blooms from late May to early June, is not demanding on care, and tolerates dry summers well. The elliptical leaves are bluish green in summer and bright yellow in autumn. Appear quite late, almost simultaneously with the flowers.
Golden acacia
Small, only up to 12 m in height, these trees are immediately noticeable. Acacia golden (Robinia pseudoacacia Frisia) has several trunks and beautiful light yellow leaves of an elliptical shape. On twisted, zigzag thorny branches, foliage appears late, almost before flowering: in late May - early June.
This tree was first discovered in Holland in 1935. It blooms with white fragrant inflorescences up to 20 cm in length, the fruit is brown and flat. The leaves are pinnate and alternate from 7 to 19 pieces on the petiole.
This acacia is low maintenance, although it prefers humus dry soil. In wet and heavy soil, it can suffer from frost and die.
Acacia cone and umbrella
One of the old-timers among the trees of this species is the cone-shaped acacia (Pseudoacacia Bessoniana). It lives up to 100 years and grows up to 20 meters in height, forming offspring. Often has multiple barrels.
Openwork foliageimparipinnate, the crown can be both asymmetric and free, rounded. It blooms not densely, with white fragrant tassels up to 20 cm in length. From 7 to 19 leaves of an elliptical shape of a bluish-green color bloom on the petioles. Forms fruits up to 12 cm in length, in the form of flat brown beans. This acacia loves the sun very much and tolerates drought very well, it is not whimsical to the soil. If you plant such a tree in the garden, heavy and wet soil should be avoided. In frosts in such soil, acacia roots can be severely damaged.
Acacia is found in Africa and in the deserts of Israel. On the hot continent, she lives in the savannas and is loved by all her inhabitants, as she gives shade, thanks to her crown, which looks like an umbrella. In fact, this is a symbolic protection from the scorching rays of the sun, because its leaves are turned edgewise towards the star.
The tree has large sharp thorns that protect it from the numerous herbivores that inhabit the savannah. It blooms with very small flowers with long stamens collected in a panicle. Available in yellow or white.
According to legend, it was from the umbrella acacia that the Jews who left Egypt made Noah's Ark.
Street Acacia
Most often in specialized stores there is a street acacia, the seedlings of which are sold in flower pots.
Pseudoacacia Monophylla is slightly susceptible to environmental pollution, is a fast-growing and non-thorny tree species, reaching 25 m in height. The leaves of this acacia are pinnate and alternating: at the beginningthe petiole is small, but closer to the end can reach 15 cm in length. Foliage is dull green in summer and yellow in autumn. It should be remembered that the leaves are very poisonous.
Branches may have a zigzag or horizontal, slightly raised appearance. It blooms with large white flowers, collected in clusters up to 20 cm in length with a pleasant aroma. This tree loves the sun and is not picky about the composition of the soil.
Acacia bristles
This name refers to both a tree-like shrub that reaches a height of more than 2 meters, and a tree that, depending on the growing area, can reach from 15 to 20 m. A strong root system and strong thorny zigzag branches make the plant wind resistant. These types of acacia bloom with beautiful large flowers of purple or pink color without fragrance, collected in inflorescences of 3-6 pieces.
The name of the plant was due to the fact that its shoots are covered with reddish bristles. The leaves are dark green in spring and summer, yellow in autumn. If such an acacia grows in the garden, it attracts attention with its large and bright flowers.
Does not require additional care, prefers a quiet and sunny place, easily tolerates dry summers. Even poor soil is suitable for her.
Pink Acacia
Robinia viscosa Vent., as it is also called, pink acacia comes from the southeast of North America, also cultivated in Ukraine. The tree can reach 7 to 12 m in height, but the lifespan hassmall.
The brown bark is smooth, the branches may have small spines. The shoots of the tree are covered with a sticky mass, which gave it its name. Acacia pink blooms with large, up to 2-3 cm in length, odorless flowers. They are collected in erect brushes of 6-12 pieces and are also covered with sticky hairs that attract bees. The tree is an excellent honey plant and pollen plant.
Suitable for those gardeners who prefer to grow plants with long flowering in the garden, as it has 4-5 flowering waves lasting until mid-September, this type of acacia. The leaves of this tree are large, up to 20 cm long. Bright green above, grayish below, they are collected on the petiole in an amount of 13 to 25 pieces.
The tree is unpretentious, frost-resistant (withstands up to -28 degrees), can grow on any soil.
Acacia silver
Mimosa, well known to all post-Soviet women, is the silver acacia, which is considered to be native to Australia and the island of Tasmania.
This evergreen tree can grow to 45m in its native area, but does not exceed 12m in other countries. Its trunk has a light gray or brown hue with vertical cracks from which gum flows.
Leaves are grayish-green in color, pinnately dissected twice, go alternately on the petiole and reach from 10 cm to 20 cm in length. The flowers are very small, in the form of yellowish balls, collected in racemose inflorescences, from which panicles are formed. They have a very strong and pleasant aroma.
Acacia Silverseeds are flat and hard, and may be matt or slightly shiny black.
White Acacia
Robinia, or false acacia (Robinia pseudacacia L.) has taken root well on the European continent and is familiar to many of its inhabitants. Its white flowers give off a very strong and pleasant fragrance that not only attracts people, but also bees.
This tree lives an average of 30 to 40 years, has a brownish bark, spreading crown with green pinnate leaves. The fruits of white acacia ripen in September - October and fall only next spring.
Acacia in medicine
The chemical composition of acacia bark and its effect on the body have not yet been fully studied, but even today decoctions from it are recommended not only by traditional healers, but also by official medicine. Since the bark, flowers and fruits of this plant are often poisonous, they should be used only after consulting a doctor and in the recommended doses.
