Vachellia caven explained

Vachellia caven (Roman cassie, Spanish; Castilian: aromita, aromo criollo, caven, Mapudungun; Mapuche: churque|italic=no, Mapudungun; Mapuche: churqui|italic=no, espinillo, espinillo de baado, espino, espino maulino) is an ornamental tree in the family Fabaceae. Vachellia caven is native to Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. It grows four to five metres tall and bears very stiff and sharp white thorns up to 2 cm in length. It blooms in spring, with bright yellow flower clusters NaNcm (-2,147,483,648inches) in diameter.

Ecology

Prominent occurrences of V. caven are within the Chilean matorral of central Chile, where the species is a common associate of the Chilean Wine Palm, Jubaea chilensis.[1]

The flowers of V. caven are used as food for bees in the production of honey.

Uses

Erosion control

The tree is used for erosion control.[2]

Ornamental tree

The tree has ornamental uses.[2]

Industrial

Tannin from the seed pods is used for tanning hides. The wood is used as fuel and to make posts for fences. The chief current human use for V. caven is in the production of charcoal.[2]

The flowers are used in perfume.[2] [3]

External links

Notes and References

  1. C. Michael Hogan (2008) Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
  2. Web site: handbook on seeds of dry-zone acacias. fao.org.
  3. Web site: Acacia caven. fcien.edu.uy.