| Needle Bush | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
|
Secure (NatureServe) |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Genus: | Vachellia |
| Species: | V. farnesiana |
| Binomial name | |
| Vachellia farnesiana (L.) Willd. |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
|
Vachellia farnesiana, also known as Acacia farnesiana, commonly known as Needle Bush, is so named because of the numerous thorns distributed along its branches. The native range of V. farnesiana is uncertain. While the point of origin is Mexico and Central America the species has a pantropical distribution incorporating Northern Australia and Southern Asia. It remains unclear whether the extra-American distribution is primarily natural or anthropogenic.[1] It is deciduous over part of its range,[2] but evergreen in most locales.[3] The species grows to a height of up to 8 metres (26 ft)[4] and has a life span of about 25–50 years.[5]
The plant has been recently spread to many new locations as a result of human activity and it is considered a serious weed in Fiji, where locals call it Ellington's Curse. It thrives in dry, saline or sodic soils. It is also a serious pest plant in parts of Australia, including north-west New South Wales, where it now infests thousands of acres of grazing country.[6]
The taxon name "farnesiana" is specially named after Odoardo Farnese (1573–1626) of the notable Italian Farnese family which, after 1550, under the patronage of cardinal Alessandro Farnese, maintained some of the first private European botanical gardens in Rome, in the 16th and 17th centuries. Under stewardship of these Farnese Gardens this acacia was imported to Italy.[7] The plant itself was brought to the Farnese Gardens from the Caribbean and Central America, where it originates.[8][9] Analysis of essences of the floral extract from this plant, long used in perfumery, resulted in the name for the sesquiterpene biosynthetic chemical farnesol, found as a basic sterol precursor in plants, and cholesterol precursor in animals.[8]
Contents |
The bark is used for its tannin content.[4] Highly tannic barks are common in general to acacias, extracts of many being are used in medicine for this reason. (See cutch).
"Roasted pods used in sweet and sour dishes."[10]
The flowers are processed through distillation to produce a perfume called Cassie. It is widely used in the perfume industry in Europe. Flowers of the plant provide the perfume essence from which the biologically important sesquiterpenoid farnesol is named.
Scented ointments from Cassie are made in India.[4]
The foliage is a significant source of forage in much of its range, with a protein content of around 18%.
The concentration of tannin in the seed pods is about 23%.
The seeds of V. farnesiana are completely non-toxic to humans[11] and are a valuable food source for people throughout the plant's range. The ripe seeds are put through a press to make oil for cooking.[12] Nonetheless an anecdotal report has been made that in Brazil some people use the seeds of V. farnesiana to eliminate rabid dogs.[4] This is attributed to an unnamed toxic alkaloid.
The tree makes good forage for bees.[13]
A black pigment is extracted from the bark and fruit.[13]
Acaci farnesiana flowers are distilled in the south of France to make an essential oil called Cassie which is used as a basis for aromatherapy and perfume.[14]
The bark and the flowers are the parts of the tree most used in traditional medicine.[12] V. farnesiana has been used in Colombia to treat malaria, and it has been confirmed in the laboratory that extract from the tree bark[15] and leaves[16] is effective against the malarial pathogen Plasmodium falciparum.[17] Indigenous Australians have used the roots and bark of the tree to treat diarrhea and diseases of the skin.[13] The tree's leaves can also be rubbed on the skin to treat skin diseases.[18]
One or more alkaloids present in Vachellia farnesiana: "phenethylamine; N-methly-.beta.-phenethylamine; tyramine; hordenine; N,N-dimethyl-phenethylamine; and N,N-dimethyl-.alpha.-methylphenethylamine" in the "leaves, bark, and roots."[19]
The following compounds are said to be in Vachellia farnesiana:
Ether extracts about 2-6% of the dried leaf mass.[23] Alkaloids are present in the bark.[24]
Farnese Wattle, Dead Finish, Mimosa Wattle, Mimosa bush, Prickly Mimosa Bush, Prickly Moses, Needle Bush, North-west Curara, Sheep's Briar, Sponge Wattle, Sweet Acacia, Thorny Acacia, Thorny Feather Wattle, Wild Briar, Huisache, Cassie, Cascalotte, Cassic, Mealy Wattle, Popinac, Sweet Briar, Texas Huisache, Aroma, (Bahamas) Cashia, (Bahamas, USA) Opoponax, Cashaw, (Belize) Cuntich, (Jamaica) Cassie-flower, Cassie, Iron Wood, Cassie Flower, Honey-ball, Casha Tree, Casha, (Virgin Islands) Cassia, (Fiji) Ellington's Curse, Cushuh, (St. Maarten).