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{{short description|Species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae}}
{{speciesbox
|image = Babool (Acacia nilotica) flowers at Hodal W IMG 1163.jpg
|genus = Vachellia
|species = nilotica
|authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) P.J.H.Hurter & Mabb.<ref name="Kyalangalilwa">{{cite journal |vauthors=Kyalangalilwa B, Boatwright JS, Daru BH, Maurin O, van der Bank M |title=Phylogenetic position and revised classification of ''Acacia s.l.'' (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in Africa, including new combinations in ''Vachellia'' and ''Senegalia''. |journal=Bot J Linn Soc |volume=172 |issue=4 |pages=500–523 |year=2013 |doi=10.1111/boj.12047|doi-access=free |hdl=10566/3454 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
|range_map = Acacia-nilotica-range-map.png
|range_map_caption = Range of ''Vachellia nilotica''
|synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web |title=Acacia nilotica |work=LegumeWeb |publisher=International Legume Database & Information Service |url=http://www.ildis.org/LegumeWeb?version~10.01&LegumeWeb&tno~323&genus~Acacia&species~nilotica}}</ref>
|synonyms =
* ''Acacia arabica'' ([[Jean-Baptiste Lamarck|Lam.]]) Willd.
* ''Acacia nilotica'' (L.) [[Willd.]] ex [[Alire Raffeneau Delile|Delile]]
* ''Acacia scorpioides'' (L.) [[William Franklin Wight|W.Wight]]
* ''Mimosa arabica'' Lam.
* ''Mimosa nilotica'' L.
* ''Mimosa scorpioides'' L.
|subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
|subdivision = * [[Vachellia nilotica subsp. adstringens|''Vachellia nilotica'' subsp. ''adstringens'']] (Schumach. & Thonn.) Kyal. & Boatwr.
* [[Vachellia nilotica subsp. cupressiformis|''Vachellia nilotica'' subsp. ''cupressiformis'']] (J.L.Stewart) Ali & Faruqi
* [[Vachellia nilotica subsp. hemispherica|''Vachellia nilotica'' subsp. ''hemispherica'']] Ali & Faruqi
* [[Vachellia nilotica subsp. indica|''Vachellia nilotica'' subsp. ''indica'']] (Benth.) Kyal. & Boatwr.
* [[Vachellia nilotica subsp. kraussiana|''Vachellia nilotica'' subsp. ''kraussiana'']] (Benth.) Kyal. & Boatwr.
* [[Vachellia nilotica subsp. leiocarpa|''Vachellia nilotica'' subsp. ''leiocarpa'']] (Brenan) Kyal. & Boatwr.
* [[Vachellia nilotica subsp. nilotica|''Vachellia nilotica'' subsp. ''nilotica'']] (L.) P.J.H.Hurter & Mabb.
* [[Vachellia nilotica subsp. subalata|''Vachellia nilotica'' subsp. ''subalata'']] (Vatke) Kyal. & Boatwr.
* [[Vachellia nilotica subsp. tomentosa|''Vachellia nilotica'' subsp. ''tomentosa'']] (Benth.) Kyal. & Boatwr.<ref name="fao"/><ref>{{GRIN | ''Acacia nilotica'' | 312499 | access-date = 12 December 2017}}</ref>
}}

'''''Vachellia nilotica''''', more commonly known as '''''Acacia nilotica''''', and by the [[vernacular name]]s of '''gum arabic tree''',<ref>{{cite web |title=''Acacia nilotica'' |publisher=Integrated Taxonomic Information System |url=https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=182086}}</ref> '''babul''',<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/babul|title=Definition of BABUL|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en|access-date=2017-08-03}}</ref> '''thorn mimosa''', '''Egyptian acacia''' or '''thorny acacia''',<ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | ''Vachellia nilotica'' | 465206 | access-date = 30 June 2017}}</ref> is a [[flowering plant|flowering]] tree in the family [[Fabaceae]]. It is native to Africa, the Middle East and the [[Indian subcontinent]]. It is also considered a '[[Weeds of National Significance|weed of national significance]]' and an [[Invasive species in Australia|invasive species]] of concern in Australia, as well as a [[federal noxious weed|noxious weed]] by the federal government of the United States.<ref>{{Citation |title= Federal Noxious Weed List} web|url=https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/weeds/downloads/weedlist.pdf}}</ref>

==Taxonomy==
This species of tree is the [[type species]] of the [[Linnaean taxonomy|Linnaean]] genus ''[[Acacia]]'', which derives its name from {{lang-grc|ἀκακία}}, ''{{lang|grc-Latn|akakía}}'', the name given by early Greek botanist-physician [[Pedanius Dioscorides]] (ca. 40–90) to this tree as a medicinal, in his book ''[[Materia medica|Materia Medica]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Acacia-nilotica.htm |title=''Acacia nilotica'' (acacia) |work=Plants & Fungi |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=2010-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100112043913/http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Acacia-nilotica.htm |archive-date=12 January 2010 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The genus ''Acacia'' was long known not to be taxonomically monophyletic, and despite being the type species of that genus, ''A. nilotica'' has since been moved to the genus ''[[Vachellia]]'', with the genus name ''[[Acacia]]'' being reserved for Australian species; the [[principle of priority]], which would normally prevent such a taxonomic change, was waived with a majority vote by the [[International Botanical Congress]] in 2005. The renaming of the traditional ''Acacia'' to ''Vachellia'' remains controversial, especially in Africa, where ''V. nilotica'' is an iconic species and is widely referred to as the acacia.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Kull |first1=Christian A. |title=Science, sentiment and territorial chauvinism in the acacia name change debate |date=2012 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt24h85b.11 |work=Peopled Landscapes |volume=34 |pages=197–220 |editor-last=HABERLE |editor-first=SIMON G. |series=Archaeological and Biogeographic Approaches to Landscapes |publisher=ANU Press |isbn=978-1-921862-71-7 |access-date=2022-04-12 |last2=Rangan |first2=Haripriya |jstor=j.ctt24h85b.11 |editor2-last=DAVID |editor2-first=BRUNO}}</ref> For the new classification of this and other species historically classified under genus ''Acacia'', see ''[[Acacia]]''.

The genus name ''Acacia'' derives from the Ancient Greek word for its characteristic thorns, {{lang|grc|ἄκις}}, ''{{lang|grc-Latn|ákis}}'', "thorn".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=esMPU5DHEGgC |first=Umberto |last=Quattrocchi |title=CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names |volume=1 A-C |year=2000 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-8493-2675-2 |page=6}}</ref> The [[specific epithet]] ''nilotica'' was probably given by Linnaeus from this tree's originally known range along the [[Nile]] river.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} In Australia the tree is known as a '''prickly acacia''',<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite book |title=Prickly acacia – ''Acacia nilotica'' |year=2003 |work=Weed Management Guide |publisher=Weeds of National Significance |url=http://www.weeds.org.au/WoNS//pricklyacacia/docs/Weed_Management_Guide-Prickly_Acacia.pdf |isbn=978-1-920932-14-5 }}</ref> despite usurping Dioscorides' two millennia-old etymology, the Australian species classified as ''Acacia'' in Australia do not have thorns.

==Description==
[[File:Babool (Acacia nilotica) flowers at Hodal W IMG 1248.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Spring blossoms at [[Hodal]] in [[Faridabad]] District of [[Haryana]], [[India]]]]
''Acacia nilotica'' or ''Vachellia nilotica'' is a tree 5–20 m high with a dense spheric [[Crown (botany)|crown]], stems and branches usually dark to black coloured, fissured bark, grey-pinkish slash, exuding a reddish low quality gum. The tree has thin, straight, light, grey spines in axillary pairs, usually in 3 to 12 pairs, 5 to {{convert|7.5|cm|0|abbr=on}} long in young trees, mature trees commonly without thorns. The leaves are bipinnate, with 3–6 pairs of pinnulae and 10–30 pairs of leaflets each, tomentose, rachis with a gland at the bottom of the last pair of pinnulae. Flowers in globulous heads 1.2–1.5 cm in diameter of a bright golden-yellow color, set up either axillary or whorly on [[Peduncle (botany)|peduncles]] 2–3 cm long located at the end of the branches. Pods are strongly constricted, hairy, white-grey, thick and softly tomentose. Its seeds number approximately 8000/kg.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/Q2190E/Q2190E10.htm|title=handbook on seeds of dry-zone acacias|website=www.fao.org|access-date=2017-08-03}}</ref>

==Distribution==
''Acacia nilotica'' or ''Vachellia nilotica'' is native from [[Egypt]], across the [[Maghreb]] and [[Sahel]], south to [[Mozambique]] and [[KwaZulu-Natal Province|KwaZulu-Natal]], South Africa, and east through the [[Arabian Peninsula]] to the [[Indian subcontinent]] and [[Burma]]. It has become widely [[naturalization|naturalised]] outside its native range including [[Zanzibar]] and [[Australia]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kriticos |first1=Darren |last2=Brown |first2=Joel |last3=Radford |first3=Ian |last4=Nicholas |first4=Mike |date=1999-10-01 |title=Plant Population Ecology and Biological Control: Acacia nilotica as a Case Study |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049964499907466 |journal=Biological Control |language=en |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=230–239 |doi=10.1006/bcon.1999.0746 |issn=1049-9644}}</ref> It is spread by [[livestock]].<ref name=autogenerated1 />

== Uses ==
[[File:Acacia nilotica, peule, a, Uniegeboutuine.jpg|thumb|right|Seed pods]]
[[File:Gum Arabic exuding.jpg|thumb|[[Gum arabic]] exuding]]
[[File:Babool (Acacia nilotica) trunk at Hodal W IMG 1252.jpg|thumb|Trunk at [[Hodal]] in [[Faridabad]] District of [[Haryana]], [[India]]]]

=== Forage and fodder ===
In part of its range smallstock consume the pods and leaves,<ref name="ZabréKaboré2017">{{cite journal|last1=Zabré|first1=Geneviève|last2=Kaboré|first2=Adama|last3=Bayala|first3=Balé|last4=Katiki|first4=Luciana M.|last5=Costa-Júnior|first5=Lívio Martins|last6=Tamboura|first6=Hamidou H.|last7=Belem|first7=Adrien M.G.|last8=Abdalla|first8=Adibe L.|last9=Niderkorn|first9=Vincent|last10=Hoste|first10=Hervé|last11=Louvandini|first11=Helder|title=Comparison of the in vitro anthelmintic effects of ''Acacia nilotica'' and ''Acacia raddiana''|journal=Parasite|volume=24|year=2017|pages=44|url= |doi=10.1051/parasite/2017044|pmid=29173278|pmc=5703060}} {{open access}}</ref> but elsewhere it is also very popular with [[cattle]]. Pods are used as a supplement to [[poultry]] rations in [[India]]. Dried pods are particularly sought out by animals on rangelands. In India branches are commonly lopped for [[fodder]]. In West Africa, the pods and leaves are considered to have [[anthelminthic]] properties on small ruminants and this has been confirmed by in vitro experiments on [[nematode]]s.<ref name="ZabréKaboré2017"/> In [[Kano (city)|Kano]] of [[Nigeria]], acacia pods have traditionally been used to dye leather a reddish-tinge.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Dalziel |first=J.M. |title=African Leather Dyes |journal=Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information |volume=6 |date=1926 |issue=6 |pages=225–238 |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |doi=10.2307/4118651 |language=en |jstor=4118651 }}</ref>

=== Tooth brushing===
The tender twig of this plant is used as a toothbrush in south-east Africa, Indian subcontinent.{{Ref supports2|<ref>Saurabh Rajvaidhya ''et al.'' (2012) [http://www.ijpsr.com/V3I7/13%20Vol.%203,%20Issue%207,%20July%202012,%20RE-654,%20Paper%2013.pdf "A review on ''Acacia Arabica'', an Indian medicinal plant"] ''International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research'' Vol 3(7) pp 1995-2005</ref>|"The tender twig of this plant is used as a toothbrush"}}

===Gum arabic===
{{main|Gum arabic}}
The exudate gum of this tree is known as [[gum arabic]] and has been collected from the [[pharaoh|pharaonic]] times for the manufacture of medicines, dyes and paints. In the present commercial market, gum arabic is defined as the dried exudate from the trunks and branches of ''Senegalia (Acacia) senegal'' or ''Vachellia (Acacia) seyal'' in the family Leguminosae (Fabaceae).<ref name=NGARA>{{cite web| title=Production and marketing of gum arabic | url=http://ngara.org/Production%20and%20MArketing%20of%20Gum%20Arabic_english_french.pdf |publisher=Network for Natural Gums and Resins in Africa (NGARA) |location=Nairobi, Kenya | date=2004 }}</ref>{{rp|4}} The gum of ''A. nilotica'' is also referred to in India as ''Amaravati gum''.<ref name="Gum arabic">{{cite web|url=http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/2342|title=Acacia nilotica (gum arabic tree)|website=Invasive species compendium|publisher=Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International|access-date=24 January 2016}}</ref>

=== Lumber ===
The tree's wood is "very durable if [[Wood drying#Water seasoning|water-seasoned]]" and its uses include tool handles and lumber for boats.<ref name="select">{{cite book |first=Ferdinand |last=Mueller |chapter=''Acacia longifolia'', Willdenow |title=Select extra-tropical plants readily eligible for industrial culture or naturalization |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CfDcl2m-6BMC&q=%22acacia+longifolia%22+uses&pg=PA7 |year=1884 |publisher=G.S. Davis |page=7}}</ref> The wood has a density of about 833 kg/m3.<ref name="fao">{{cite book |first=G.E. |last=Wickens |chapter=Table 2.1.2 The timber properties of ''Acacia'' species and their uses |chapter-url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/V5360E/v5360e0f.htm |title=Role of Acacia species in the rural economy of dry Africa and the Near East |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |series=FAO Conservation Guide |volume=27 |year=1995 |isbn=978-92-5-103651-8 |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/V5360E/v5360e00.htm#Contents}}</ref>

===Food and medicine===
In India it's used as an ingredient in various dishes.

The [[Maasai people]] eat both the inner bark ([[phloem]]) and the fruit pulp boiled in water. They also use this plant medicinally to treat sore throat, cough, chest pains etc.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ruffo |first1=Christopher K. |last2=Birnie |first2=Ann |last3=Tengnäs |first3=Bo |title=Edible wild plants of Tanzania |year=2002 |publisher=Regional Land Management Unit/Sida |isbn=9966-896-62-7 }}</ref>

In Northern Nigeria it is called ''bagaruwa'' in [[Hausa language|Hausa]]. Medicinal uses include soaking the tender bark in water to be taken against dysentery and pile. The fruits are ground together with the seeds and taken with honey as treatment against stomach ulcers.

==Phytochemistry==
Two new antiprotozoal diterpenes have been isolated from the root bark of '''''Acacia nilotica'''''
<ref>{{cite journal |title=''Two New Antiprotozoal Diterpenes From the Roots of '''''Acacia nilotica'''''''|year=2021 |journal=Frontiers in Chemistry |doi=10.3389/fchem.2021.624741 |doi-access=free |last1=Anyam |first1=John V. |last2=Daikwo |first2=Priscilla E. |last3=Ungogo |first3=Marzuq A. |last4=Nweze |first4=Nwakaego E. |last5=Igoli |first5=Ngozichukwuka P. |last6=Gray |first6=Alexander I. |last7=De Koning |first7=Harry P. |last8=Igoli |first8=John O. |volume=9 |page=624741 |pmid=33968894 |pmc=8097170 }}</ref>

==Propagation==
There are 5000–16000 seeds/kg.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Vachellia nilotica'' (as ''Acacia nilotica'') |publisher=Tropical Forages |url=http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Acacia_nilotica.htm }}</ref>

==Gallery==

<gallery align="center" mode="packed" heights="180px">
File:Vachellia nilotica, Village Behlolpur, Punjab, India.JPG|Vachellia nilotica, Village Behlolpur, [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[India]]
File:Vachellia nilotica, at village Chaparr Chirri, Mohali, Punjab, India.JPG|village [[Chaparr Chirri]], [[Mohali]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[India]]
File:Acacia-nilotica.jpg|Compound leaf, seed, flower and seed pod

</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of Indian timber trees]]
* [[Arid Forest Research Institute]] (AFRI)
* [[Babool (brand)]] of toothpaste
* [[Teeth cleaning twig ]](datun)

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{cite book |first=J.O. |last=Carter |chapter=7.2 ''Acacia nilotica'': a Tree Legume out of Control |chapter-url=http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/doc/Publicat/Gutt-shel/x5556e0v.htm |editor1-first=Ross C. |editor1-last=Gutteridge |editor2-first=H. Max |editor2-last=Shelton |title=Forage Tree Legumes in Tropical Agriculture |publisher=The Tropical Grassland Society of Australia |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-9585677-1-8 |url=http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/doc/Publicat/Gutt-shel/x5556e00.htm#Contents}}
* {{cite web |title=''Vachellia nilotica'' (as ''Acacia nilotica'' subsp. ''indica'' (Benth.) Brenan) |work=FloraBase the West Australian Flora |url=http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/browse/flora?f=163&level=s&id=20757&type=l&PHPSESSID=948be459b92215063fcb287af7ed3099}}
* [http://www.frienvis.nic.in/babul.htm ''Vachellia nilotica'' (as ''Acacia nilotica'') (www.frienvis.nic.in)]

{{WestAfricanPlants|Acacia nilotica}}
{{Tannin source}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q15525126|from2=Q1621617}}

[[Category:Vachellia|nilotica]]
[[Category:Drought-tolerant trees]]
[[Category:Forages]]
[[Category:Flora of Western Asia]]
[[Category:Flora of the Arabian Peninsula]]
[[Category:Trees of the Indian subcontinent]]
[[Category:Trees of Africa]]
[[Category:Trees of Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Trees of Myanmar]]
[[Category:Flora naturalised in Australia]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Plant dyes]]

Vachellia nilotica - Revision history

A.RAHMAN: expand section also and cleaned formatting

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article