Bio Diversity Park

Common Name : Gum Arabic Tree

Hindi Name : कुम्था | Scientific Name : Senegalia senegal
Family : Mimosaceae
Uses : Senegal gum is exudated from the stem and branches of Senegalia Senegal. It is used as a pharmaceutical ingredient in medication for throat and stomach inflammation and as a film-forming agent in peel-off skin masks. This gum is often applied to affected skin to treat minor wounds and scrapes. It also acts as a demulcent, which soothes the mucus membranes. It is useful in treating diarrhea and other intestinal ailments.
Native: Africa
General Description:

It is a small deciduous tree, which grows to a height of 5-12m, with a trunk up to 30cm in diameter. Thorns are placed just below the nodes, either in three, up to 7mm long, with the middle one hooked downwards and the lateral ones curved upwards, or solitary with the laterals absent. Leaves are double compound, up to 2.5cm long. Leaf-axis is finely downy with 2 glands; pinnae are 6-20 pairs; leaflets are small, 7-25 pairs, rigid, leathery, smooth, linear to elliptic-oblong, ciliate on margins, pale glaucous-green, tip blunt to somewhat pointed. Flowers are borne in not very dense spikes 5-10cm long, carried on stalks 0.7-2cm long. Flowers are normally produced with the leaves. Sepal cup is bell-shaped, straight or slightly curved, 7.5-18cm long, 2.5cm wide, thin, light brown to gray, papery or woody, firm, smooth. The gum is drained from cuts in the bark, and an individual tree will yield 200 to 300 grams.