Acacia

“ In the high wind the palm-trees are in constant motion tossing their feather tufts in the air; some of them are blown like an umbrella turned wrong side out, and a grove presents the appearance of crowd of people overtaken by a sudden squall. The acacia tree, which the Arabs call the sont, the acanthus of Strabo (Mimosa Nilotica) begins to be seen with the palm. It is a thorny tree, with small yellow blossoms and bears a pod. But what interests us most is the gum that exudes from its bark; for this is the real Gum Arabic! ”

“ Our rocks are rough, but smiling there
The acacia waves her yellow hair,
Lonely and sweet nor loved the less
For flowering in a wilderness. ”

“ The graceful cocoanut palm sprang up in groups from the water’s edge, waving its feathery fronds over the rippling waters that dashed about its fibrous foot. Great bushes of prickly-pear and other Cacti were growing on the low summit of the bank, covering large spaces of ground, with their impenetrable masses, presenting a formidable array of spines: as did also a species of Acacia that grew in thickets and single trees. ”

“ Here, doubtful of being able before dark to gain the valley we were in search of we halted for the night. It is impossible to imagine a more beautifully romantic glen than that in which we lay. There was just level space on either side of the stream for the horses to travel along, the rocks rising almost perpendicularly from it to a towering height, covered with flowering acacia of various species, whose bright yellow flowers were contrasted and mingled with the more sombre foliage of the blue gum and cypress trees: several new plants were also found, of beautiful descriptions. ”

“ Let messengers go to every strange land to seek her: and as for the messenger who shall go to the valley of the acacia, let many men go with him to bring her.” Then said his Majesty, “Excellent exceedingly is what has been said to us”; and they sent them. And many days [pg 146] after these things the people who were sent to strange lands came to give report unto the King: but there came not those who went to the valley of the acacia, for Bata had slain them, but let one of them return to give a report to the King. His Majesty sent many men and soldiers, as well as horsemen, to bring her back. ”

“ Christine packed his trunk with ragged odds and ends of clothing, and they made a long journey to No. 14, Acacia Grove, where Christine had taken two furnished rooms and a scullery, which served also as kitchen and bath-room. Acacia Grove was the deformed extremity of a misbegotten suburb. There were five acacia trees planted on either side of the unfinished roadway, but they had been blighted in their youth, and their branches were spinsterish and threadbare. ”

“ There is, indeed, strong reason for believing that the cassia is only another name for a coarser preparation of cinnamon, and it is also to be remarked that it did not grow in Palestine, but was imported from the East.
The acacia, on the contrary, was esteemed a sacred tree. It is the acacia vera of Tournefort, and the mimosa nilotica of Linnæus. It grew abundantly in the vicinity of Jerusalem, [5] where it is still to be found, and is familiar to us all, in its modern uses at least, as the tree from which the gum arabic of commerce is obtained. ”

“ a line Of rigid poplars elbowed it behind, And, just in front, beyond the lime and bricks That wronged the grass between it and the road, A great acacia, with its slender trunk And overpoise of multitudinous leaves, (In which a hundred fields might spill their dew And intense verdure, yet find room enough) Stood, reconciling all the place with green. ”

“ It is thought that this wood is the black acacia, because that, it is said, is the most common tree growing in the deserts of Arabia; and agrees with what the Scriptures say of the shittim wood. The acacia vera grows abundantly in Egypt, in places far from the sea; in the mountains of Sinai, near the Red Sea, and in the deserts. It is of the size of a large mulberry tree. The spreading branches and larger limbs are armed with thorns which grow three together; the bark is rough; the leaves are oblong, and stand opposite each other ”

“ Whilst this transformation was effecting in the gardens, which had lately looked so desolate, the bush was not behindhand in assuming a new appearance. The wattle, which is one species of the many kinds of Australian acacia, led the van amongst the indigenous flowering trees, and showed its pale yellow blossoms before May was over. Later in the rainy season the wattle was outvied by the acacia called the "raspberry jam," the flowers of which are of the brightest gold colour and grow in such abundant clusters that some of these trees appear better furnished with flowers than leaves. ”

“ Once a vanilla plantation, here and there the aromatic bean grew wild, its ground usurped by the pita-plant, the acacia, and the thorny cactus. The dry reservoir and the ruined acequia proved the care that had in former times been bestowed on its irrigation. Guardarayas of palms and orange-trees, choked up with vines and jessamines, marked the ancient boundaries of the fields. ”

“ When day broke Bitou told Anapou the truth, refusing at the same time ever to return to the house where Anapou's wife was. "I shall go," he said, "to the Vale of the Acacia. Now listen to what will happen. I shall tear out my heart by magic so as to place it on the topmost bough of the acacia, and when the acacia is cut down, and my heart will fall to the ground, you will come to look for it. After you have looked for seven years do not be discouraged, but put it in a vessel of cold water; that will bring me to life again. I shall certainly live again and be revenged on my enemies. ”

“ We were, as usual, escorted out of this kroom by the gadadoo, and again commenced our march.
The soil was again different, being of a moist sandy clay, and very productive. Here I observed several large sycamore-trees, as well as an ash, which was more rough in the bark than that of England. The beautiful acacia is invariably an ornamental plant in the towns and villages. As we passed I observed some very curious grasses, different to any I had previously observed, as well as heaths, and shrubs bearing fruits of various forms and flavour, but all of a yellow colour. ”

“ After an agreeable but short stay, we continued our journey through a very uninteresting country. During the journey I observed the “black wattle-tree” (Acacia melanoxylon) growing abundantly, sometimes on the declivities of the hills, and also in swampy situations. Several species of Acacias [111] were in flower, some merely small shrubs, while others had attained the size of large trees; but the whole being in full bloom, bestowed a pleasing appearance upon the otherwise dull scenery. ”

“ Acacia show the beginnings of a scrub region. Much further to the south, those acacias and others become great forests which extend all along the south of the Sahara Desert and furnish the valuable gums of the Soudan.
If one passes southward through this forest of acacias, it alters in character. The trees become taller, closer together, and climbing plants and undergrowth become more frequent. 109 Still further south, one finds the regular tropical forest which is characteristic of the tropics everywhere. ”

“ The burnt acacia ash, which is added to the powdered leaf of the pitjuri plant, has a somewhat important function to perform; and one marvels at Nature having given the unsophisticated aboriginal the hint to add it. One of the favourite species, which is burnt for the purpose, is Acacia salicina. ”

“ This arid region abounds especially in thorny species, to all of which might well be applied the term " wait-a-bit," given to one variety of acacia (Acacia deienens) , because the unguarded wayfarer often finds himself suddenly arrested by its sharp spines. About one-third of the whole flora comprises such plants belonging to the Cape region as have succeeded in adapting themselves to the dry climate of the Karroo by means of their succulent roots, stems, atid foliage. ”

“ The vertical position protects the structure from the intense sunlight, as with their edges towards the sky and earth they do not intercept light so fully as ordinary horizontally placed leaves. There are about 450 species of acacia widely scattered over the warmer regions of the globe. They abound in Australia and Africa. Various species yield gum. True gum-arabic is the product of Acacia Senegal, abundant in both east and west tropical Africa. Acacia arabica is the gum-arabic tree of India, but yields a gum inferior to the true gum-arabic. ”

“ Of Acacia numerous species occur, among which are A. alata and pulchella, both varying with smooth and hispid foliage; the greater part of the species are peculiar to the Colony. A. diptera62 is a singular slender leafless plant, with the branchlets two-winged, glaucous, and bordered with a strong edge; A. squamata63 has the tips of the phyllodia curved like a bird's head, and its flowers appear to be brown ”

“ The three-thorned acacia, or honey locust, as it is sometimes called, if left to its natural growth, will also follow the same fashion, its lower branches drooping gracefully, until their long leaves sweep the grass. There is a young untrimmed tree of this kind in the village, a perfect picture in its way, so prettily branched, with its foliage sweeping the ground. As a general thing, are not all our trees too much trimmed in this country? ”

“ The acacia brushes grow generally on a hard and clayey soil evidently frequently covered with water, and I consider that these plains or brushes are swamps or morasses in wet weather, since they must receive all the water from the low ranges with which they are generally circumscribed. It is a remarkable feature in the hills of this country that their terminations are generally perpendicular westward, rising from the lower grounds round from south-west to north-west very gradually; their terminating rocky bluffs are usually two or three hundred feet high. ”

“ Among these, as well as the herbaceous plants, the Compositæ prevail over every other natural order. Two common species belong to the tribe of Mutisiaceæ, unknown in Europe, and almost confined to South America. The bushy species of Baccharis, a genus very widely spread in the New World, but not known elsewhere, were also very common. An acacia (A. Cavenia) approached more nearly to the dimensions of a tree. It has stiff, spreading, and very spiny branches, and is widely spread throughout the drier parts of temperate South America. ”

“ The slender acacia would not shake
⁠One long milk-bloom on the tree;
The white lake-blossom fell into the lake,
⁠As the pimpernel dozed on the lea;
But the rose was awake all night for your sake,
⁠Knowing your promise to me;
The lilies and roses were all awake,
⁠They sigh'd for the dawn and thee. ”

“ As stated above, the specimens which we collected of Acacia gummifera precisely accord with the published description and drawing; but we have others under this name from Mr. Cosson’s collector, Ibrahim, gathered near Mogador and at Ouanyna, which differ in having very short spines, 1⁄6 to 1⁄4 in. long, whilst those of our plant are from 2⁄3 to 3⁄4 in. long and much stouter.
Very small plants of Acacia gummifera are living at Kew, raised from seeds obligingly presented by Mr. Cosson. They grow exceedingly slowly, and several have been lost by damping off. ”

“ Ragon says, that the ancients substituted the acacia for all other plants because they believed it to be incorruptible, and not liable to injury from the attacks of any kind of insect or other animal--thus symbolizing the incorruptible nature of the soul. ”

“ Tree-worship survives amongst the Sorarai, neighbours of the Gaberi, who swear by the bark of a species of acacia. All however believe in a supreme being whose voice is the thunder, and who is enthroned in the clouds. ”

“ The early foliage of this tree, it is interesting to observe, is characterised by a larger development than it assumes with more advanced growth; these differences can easily be distinguished in the plants before us, which may be identified by their light-coloured and elegant leaves. Another large Acacia (Melanoxylon) is near the angle of the South Transept, and on the left of it perhaps one of the finest specimens of the Rhododendron arboreum from Nepaul. ”

“ No doubt the whole country has been covered with acacia bush at one time, with an odd large tree shooting above the dwarf forests here and there, and though the acacia bush has been cleared away to give place to cultivation, the big trees have been left standing, since to the toilers in the fields they are harbours of shade from the merciless sun. ”

“ The death of the tree soon follows the loss of this important juice, and thousands of trees of the genus acacia are annually sacrificed in different parts of Africa to procure the gum-arabic of commerce. It is only in a few genera and tribes of trees, that it exists in so concentrated a state as to assume the solid form on exposure to the air, but in some of these the quantity is amazing. Hot countries are the chief abodes of such trees. ”

“ We camped in the evening in the midst of rocky, broken hills, covered with dwarf shrubs and stunted gumtrees; the soil in which they grew appearing more sandy than what we had yet passed on this side of the range. The shrubs here were Dodonaea, Fabricia, Daviesia, Jacksonia, and two or three dwarf species of acacia, one of which was very showy, about three feet high, with very small oblong, sericeous phyllodia, and globular heads of bright yellow flowers, produced in great abundance on axillary fascicles ”