English/ Common name- Acacia tree
Botanical name- Acacia mangium
Appearance- Acacias’ distinctive leaves take the form of small finely divided leaflets that give the leafstalk a feathery or fern-like appearance. The trees grow up to 65- 100 ft (20-30 m) tall and 1-2 ft (.3-.6 m) wide.
Acacias are also distinguished by their small, often fragrant flowers, which are arranged in compact globular or cylindrical clusters. The flowers are usually yellow but occasionally white and have many stamens apiece, giving each one a fuzzy appearance. The fruits are legumes and are highly variable in appearance, depending on the species.
Origin- Acacia Mangium is native to northeastern Queensland in Australia, the Western Province of Papua New Guinea, Papua, Asia, and the eastern Maluku Islands.
Conditions required for growth- It can be planted in hard compact soils, Savannah areas, dry ridge tops and slopes of hills, moist foothills, and infertile dry soils. Acacia has the ability to tolerate extended drought. Large scale plantations of the species are being established successfully in Southern China, below latitude 23.5 8N with an annual mean temperature of 20 8C (max. 38 8C, min. 5 8C) and annual rainfall of 1500 mm mainly occurring from March to July
Uses-Acacia trees produce sapwood and heartwood. The heartwood's color is brownish yellow, shimmery and medium textured. Acacia has many varied uses from hardwood furnishings to water-soluble gums that are used as thickening agents in foods. The most common use is growing acacia for wood in the manufacturing of furniture. It is a very strong wood, so it is also used to make support beams for the construction of buildings
