We get acquainted with shrubs resembling acacia. Acacia: medicinal properties and contraindications

Acacia is known for its beauty and variety of species. It grows on every continent and is widely used in medicine.

We have selected for you the most interesting varieties of acacia with the biological names of each species, detailed description and large photos varieties.

sticky

Robinia viscosa- a tree reaching a height of 12 meters. Barrel diameter this plant small - within 35 cm.

The trunk is covered with smooth dark bark.

Robinia Sticky gets its name from glandular pubescence on shoots, pedicels and calyxes. Leaves are enough large: reach a length of 20 cm.

Flowers The plant has a pink color. They do not differ big size: them the average size- 2 cm.

They gather in upright brushes in an amount of 6 to 15 pieces.

Acacia Sticky in nature grows on the territory North America. Particularly widespread in the Allegheny Mountains.

New Mexican

Robinia neomexicana is a small tree or shrub, reaching a height of 2 to 8 meters.

shoots have spines in the form of an awl with gray pubescence. The stems of the leaves have a similar configuration.

Leaves of this plant consist of small leaves in an amount of 9 to 15. They are elliptical in shape and reach a length of 4 cm.

flowers plants - small size, up to 2.5 cm. They have a white or pale pink color.

In nature, Acacia New Mexican is found in North America, in the states of Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, California and Arizona.

bristly hairy

Robinia hispida is a shrub with a height of 1 to 3 meters. It grows due to the intense offspring of the roots.

Robinia bristle-haired got its name due to the fact that all parts of the plant, excluding the petals, are covered with reddish bristles.

Leaves reach a length of 23 cm. They consist of leaflets in an amount of 7 to 13, having a rounded shape and reaching a length of 6 cm.

flowers the plant is small - up to 2.5 cm. dyed purple or lilac colors.
In nature, Robinia bristle-haired grows throughout the entire North America.

Armed

Acacia armata- shrub up to 3 meters. Differs in abundant branching and thin branches covered with down. Shoots are abundantly covered with small phyllodes.

Leaves have the form eggs. They are asymmetrical. They are painted in dark green, sometimes with a silvery sheen.

Flowers have a bright yellow color. Inflorescences - capitate lonely. In nature, Acacia Armed is common in the territory North America as well as India and China.

Silvery

Acacia dealbata — evergreen tree up to 10 meters. Known in Russia as mimosa.

The trunk is covered with smooth bark. Branches have white coating.

Leaves- doubly pinnate. They have an ashy shade, for which the acacia got its name.
The flowers are ball heads with a diameter of 4 to 8 mm, with a pleasant smell.

Acacia Silver grows in Australia- to their historical homeland. It is also common in countries with a tropical climate - the countries of West Africa, India, China.

treelike

Or yellow acacia(Caragana arborescens) - shrub or dwarf tree, reaching a height of 4 to 7 meters.

Known in Russia as "pea farmer". Leaves are made up of 5-7 pairs leaflets arranged opposite each other.

flowers- bisexual, belong to the moth type. Quite large. They have a yellow crown.

In nature Karaganu Treelike can be found in the forests of Siberia, Altai, the Southern Urals, Kazakhstan and Georgia.

Gorgeous

wonderful(Acacia spectabilis) - shrub tall from 1.5 to 4 meters. Leaves this plant is pinnate.

flowers have rich yellow. In nature, Acacia Magnificent is found in Australia and North America(in Queensland and New South Wales).

willow

Acacia saligna- a tree reaching a height of 8 meters. Flowers have a bright yellow color. Seeds are dark, sometimes black.

In its natural habitat, Willow Acacia grows in its historical homeland - australia as well as in Africa and South America.

Red

Acacia oxycedrus- a small shrub up to 2 meters high.

heads colors of this plant are painted in colors ranging from saturated yellow to pale yellow.

Seeds reach up to 10 cm in length and up to 6 cm in width. In nature, Red Acacia can be found in North America.

Crimean

Or Acacia Lankaran(Albizia julibrissin) - deciduous tree up to 12 meters. The trunk of the tree is covered with dense bark beautiful patterns.

Leaves are profusely crossed veined, because of which they look openwork. They fold up at night.
Flowers This plant has a delicate and pleasant smell.

Acacia Crimean distributed in territories from Transcaucasia to Central Asia, as well as in the south of Ukraine and Russia.

Sandy

Ammodendron- shrubs or small trees from 0.5 to 8 meters high. Leaves- feathery. They have pubescence. There is a thorn at the end of the leaf.

flowers collected in brushes and have a dark purple color. Acacia Sandy is common in the territories of countries Central Asia, as well as in China, Iran and Kazakhstan.

Chinese

Acacia farnesiana- shrub with strong branching, reaching a height of 10 meters.

flowers Plants are yellow and fluffy. They have a violet smell with an admixture of raspberries.
Grows in the area Western India in tropical and subtropical countries.

Pink

tree up to 7 meters, in special occasions- up to 12 meters. It has spherical inflorescences with large pale lilac flowers.

Flowers have no smell. Acacia Pink in nature is common in the southern part of North America, in southern Europe.

long-leaved

Acacia longifolia- a tree with a height of seven to ten meters. His main feature — fast growth.

It reaches its maximum height in an average of 5-6 years.

In nature Acacia Longifolia found in the southeastern part of Australia, as well as in the United States, in the states of Queensland and New South Wales.

leafless

Acacia aphylla- a small tall shrub from 0.9 to 2.5 meters.

flowers of this plant are yellow. In nature, Acacia Leafless grows in the territory Western Australia.

boxwood

Acacia buxifolia- shrub reaching a height of up to 4 meters.

flowers have the shape of a sphere, painted in a rich yellow color. seeds of this plant are contained in pods, reaching 7 cm in length and 0.8 cm in width.

Acacia boxwood grows in Australia and in the forests of North America.

Myrtle

Acacia myrtifolia- shrub. Quite small, its height ranges from 0.3 to 3 meters.

Flowers painted in cream or light yellow. This plant flowers in winter and spring. It grows in its historical homeland - in australia.

Nile

Acacia nilotica- a small tree or shrub, reaching a height of 6 meters.

On the branches of this plant are present triple spikes. Gum is formed in the bark.

Leaves are in sequential order.

inflorescences- spike-shaped. Flowers are white or light yellow in color.

Found in tropical areas Africa, countries of Asia Minor, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Australia.

twisted

Acacia pravissima- a tree that reaches a height of up to 6 meters. The diameter of the trunk reaches 13 meters.

The bark is brown or grey, rough structure.

inflorescences represent brushes on pedicels, reaching 1 cm in length. Heads contain 8-12 flowers.

In its natural habitat it is found in USA, in the states of Victoria and South Wales.

mixed

Acacia confusa- a tree reaching a height of up to 15 meters.

Naturally found in tropical regions Pacific Ocean, on about. Hawaii.

Thus, acacia is very diverse plant which includes many types.

Acacia yellow or Caragana tree - Сaragana arborescens Lam. Naturally distributed in Western Siberia, in Altai, in the Sayans, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.

acacia grows

Grows in scrub or undergrowth of pine and deciduous forests on sandy soil. Light-loving mesophyte, mesotroph.

Tall shrub, up to 7 m tall, with smooth greenish-gray bark. All buds are partially covered by the remaining base of the petiole of the leaf, often 3 together, with two lateral ones being small, tightly pressed to the middle one. Shoots are naked, faceted, covered with brown or brownish-green skin, cracking longitudinally.

acacia leaves

Leaves up to 10 cm long of 4-7 pairs of obovate leaflets, 1-2.5 cm long. In spring, the leaves are bright green, pubescent; in summer - green, naked; in autumn - green before falling off, sometimes yellow. Blooms after full foliage.

acacia flowers

Flowers yellow, solitary or 2-5 in bunches. Duration mass flowering about two weeks.Externally a flower yellow acacia like a moth, ten stamens, one pistil. At the base of the receptacle, the stamen tube expands and forms a large honey hole. The secreted nectar fills the honey hole, enters the rim and the arch of the sail, and becomes available to insects. Green nectary.

Yellow acacia blooms in the second half of May for 13-15 days. The flowering of one flower lasts an average of 6 days, with a cold snap - 8-9. The highest content of nectar in it is observed on the 5-6th day of life. The nectar production of yellow acacia depends on weather conditions. In favorable weather, one bee colony can bring up to 5 kg of nectar per day. Nectar is released most intensively in cloudy weather, especially after rains, but the concentration of sugar in it decreases to 40%; abundant nectar production at a temperature of 15 ° C, but the concentration of sugar in the nectar rises to 60-65%. In dry, sunny weather, nectar production is significantly reduced. In any case, honey collections from yellow acacia are stable. Bees also take pollen from flowers.

acacia seeds

Acacia yellow seeds - brown fruits, narrow, linear-cylindrical beans, 5-8 seeds per pod.

Acacia yellow breeding

Attracts with ease of reproduction, ease of cultivation, endurance and durability, unpretentiousness to the soil, but better development reaches on fresh sandy loams. It cuts well, gives abundant shoots from the stump. In old plantings, it is exposed from below. Propagated by seeds. To accelerate germination, it is necessary to soak in water for 5-6 hours. It is better to sow in early spring, you can sow in the summer, freshly harvested seeds. Late autumn sowing works only on light soils. Forms are propagated by grafting on the main species.

Acacia bush

In culture since 1752 it is used as ornamental plant when creating hedges along lawns, the formation of edges and undergrowth in parks. root system acacia penetrates to a depth of up to 2.5 m, so it is planted to fix the soil of slopes and ravines, used in windbreaks and field plantations.
When used to create hedges, it needs systematic, double pruning, without which it is very bare from below.

In GBS since 1937, 7 samples (34 copies) were grown from seeds obtained from Kyiv, Dnepropetrovsk, Arkhangelsk, Potsdam, there are GBS reproduction plants. Shrub, at 10 years old, height 3.2 m, crown diameter 200 cm. Plant grows from 28.IV ± 9 to 16.IX ± 17 within 141 days. In the first 3 years, the growth rate is fast. Flowering and fruiting from 2 years. Blossoms from 30.V ± 6 to 10.VI ± 8 for 11 days. The fruits ripen on July 21 ± 22. Weight of 100 fruits is 26 g. Weight of 1000 seeds is 28 g. Gives plants from seeds of GBS reproduction. Winter hardiness is complete. The viability of seeds is 90-100%. When sowing seeds in the ground in April-May without stratification, seedlings appear in 20-30 days. 100% of summer cuttings take root when treated with a 0.005% IMC solution for 16 hours.

It has several interesting garden forms:

Lorberg (f. Lorbergii) - shrub up to 3.5 m tall. Most effective in standard form. Looking at the plant, it is difficult to guess that this is one of the forms of the common yellow acacia. The skeletal branches extending from the trunk form a kind of bowl. Along the periphery of the crown, the shoots gracefully hang down. They are covered with very narrow and long (up to 20 cm) light green leaves, similar to larch needles. The crown is openwork, practically does not give a shadow. Thin shoots and filamentous leaves give the caragana an exotic look, which is why it is sometimes called the northern palm. Shrub blooms in late May - early June with yellow fragrant flowers. It grows quickly, grows up to 3 m, photophilous. It is undemanding to soils, drought-resistant. Responds well to pruning. Winter-hardy. The grafting is done on a tree-like caragana in a stem 0.75-2.5 m high.

In GBS since 1938, 3 samples (7 copies) were grown from seedlings obtained from Potsdam and of unknown origin. Shrub, height 3.6 m, crown diameter 230 cm. Terms of phenological development coincide with the main species. Winter hardiness is high. Decorative, occasionally used in the landscaping of Moscow.

Weeping (f. pendula) - a shrub with thin branches spread over the surface of the soil, being grafted into a trunk forms very elegant, weeping plants.

It differs from the usual yellow acacia in a bizarre crown shape, formed by highly sinuous skeletal and long young branches hanging down. In May - early June, they are covered with yellow, bunched flowers. Curved branches of weeping acacia look no less attractive in winter. The plant is photophilous, but tolerates light shade. Undemanding to soil fertility, tolerates its compaction. Grows best in fresh sandy soils. Drought-resistant, does not tolerate wetlands. Winter hardy. The grafting is done on a tree-like caragana in a stem 2.5-3 m high.

In GBS since 1938 1 sample (6 copies). Shrub, height 1.9 m, crown diameter 135 cm plant grows from late April to early October. Blooms in June. The fruits ripen in August. Winter hardiness is complete.

And also: low (f. nana) - dwarf bush form; large-flowered (f. grandiflora) - flowers up to 3 cm; broad-leaved (f. latifolia) - leaves 3.2 x 1.4 cm in size; obtuse (f. obtusifolia) - with blunt leaves at the top; sophorolistnaya (C. arborescens x C. heterophylla) - an elegant hybrid form. Variety "Walker" (Walker) - hybrid origin ("Lorbergii" x "Pendula"). This low bush, spread over the ground, is unique and graceful if grafted high on a trunk. Such standard forms are excellent material for single plantings. Variety "Albescens" (Albescens) is distinguished by the golden color of the leaves.

Acacia honey

Acacia honey is one of the the best varieties honey. Honey collected by white and yellow acacia bees is highly valued for its tenderness and slow crystallization. Acacia honey is the lightest honey.
Honey with yellow and white acacia differ in color and aroma, but have a similar composition and healing properties.

White acacia honey in liquid form is absolutely transparent, during crystallization it becomes white, fine-grained, resembling snow.

Honey from a yellow acacia is light yellow, with a slight greenish tint, and even in a ripened state, freshly pumped splashes like water,

During crystallization, it becomes like fat, white-yellow in color, fine grained.

Crystallization of acacia honey

Pure acacia honey is liquid and fluid. Unlike other varieties, yellow and white locust honey remains liquid throughout the year. This property is associated with the presence of a large amount of fructose in its composition. The crystallization of acacia honey is always very fine, like flour.

Healing properties of acacia honey

Acacia honey contains 35.98% glucose (wine sugar) and 40.35% fructose (fruit sugar) - the sweetest substance in nature (fructose is 1.7 times sweeter than sucrose - sugar extracted from sugar beets and sugar cane, and in 2 - 2.5 times sweeter than glucose).

White and yellow acacia honey is successfully used as a sedative for nervous diseases, in diabetic and baby food. Acacia honey usually does not cause allergies. Acacia honey is used to treat eye diseases.

Acacia honey has an antimicrobial effect, is used as a tonic and sedative, as well as insomnia, biliary, renal and gastrointestinal diseases.

Acacia honey is the best honey for children, it has a lot of vitamin A (carotene). With conjunctivitis, cataracts and glaucoma, honey with distilled water (in a ratio of 1: 2) is dripped into the eyes at night.

With enuresis in children, a spoonful of honey before bedtime helps (do not drink at night). Acacia honey retains moisture in the body and at the same time soothes.

collection time

Collect acacia honey in May-June.

AROMA: very thin, delicate, lively, refined, spreading like a breath of wind, characteristic acacia.

TASTE: Enveloping, delicate, delicate floral taste that tends to intensify upon ingestion. You taste a thin and delicate substance, swallow it, and a powerful sweet floral taste grows in your mouth.

Acacia properties

According to E.Yu. Chassa, an infusion of the leaves and bark of acacia yellow, is used for atherosclerosis, headache, heartburn, and liver diseases. The peoples of Siberia and the Urals drank an infusion of acacia bark for catarrh of the upper respiratory tract, an infusion of leaves for diathesis in children and scrofula.

As a good honey plant, acacia is used for planting apiaries. The honey obtained from it is considered to be extremely healing for beriberi, exhaustion, loss of strength.

Acacia seed soup:

Take some cauliflower, parsley root, carrots, potatoes, 3-4 tablespoons of acacia seeds, pour hot salted water. Put 2 tablespoons flour, fried in butter, 2 tablespoons sour cream and a spoonful of tomato sauce. Boil until done.

For treatment, decoctions, tinctures and infusions of inflorescences (at the beginning of flowering) and white acacia bark are used. White acacia honey is the most expensive, it is especially useful for men. Infusions and tinctures are used for digestive disorders, gastritis with hyperacidity, bronchial asthma, inflammation of the female genital organs, kidneys and bladder, constipation. White acacia flowers are able to lower blood pressure, they contain a substance similar to chemical composition to reserpine. Acacia is also used for colds.

Jam from white acacia flowers has all the healing properties of this amazing tree.

Dip acacia flower petals in 0.5 liters of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes. Then add sugar and cook further, like any jam. Before removing from heat, add citric acid, remove the foam, cool.

For 60 grams of flowers - 1 kg of sugar, 1 teaspoon of citric acid.

Alushta. Yellow acacia.

Albizia - Lankaran acacia, blooming now in Haifa

Red acacia.

african acacia

Acacia dealbata Link

Acacia armata (Acacia armed)

Acacia longifolia (Acacia longifolia)

Another yellow acacia is called Australian

Acacia silver or silver mimosa belongs to the legume family. Homeland - Australia, subtropical and tropical regions. Evergreen tree.

Purple acacia blossoms in the Orenburg region

Lilac acacia

In Kazakhstan, here is such a lilac acacia

Purple acacia in the Carpathians

In the countries of the Mediterranean acacia means life, immortality, withdrawal from active affairs, as well as platonic love. Since this plant has both white and red flowers, it signifies life and death, death and rebirth. Its spines mean the horns of the growing moon. In Christianity, acacia is a sign of immortality and a moral way of life.

pink acacia

Indoor Acacia - this type indoor plants belongs to the legume family. There are 5 known species of this plant. In room culture, you can most often find an armed acacia, a silver acacia and an acacia podalierium.

Acacia Longifolia - a branchy tree with bare branches and grayish-green phyllodes

Acacia armed (false mimosa) - Acacia armata. An evergreen low growing spreading shrub with spiny stems. Origin: Australia.

Photo from here http://www.chitalnya.ru/work/290434/, http://vip-oboi.ucoz.ru/publ/dekorativno_cvetushhie_rastenija/dekorativno_cvetushhie_rastenija/akacija_lat_acacia/154-1-0-294, http://www.sgvavia.ru/forum/35-449-184, http://fotki.yandex.ru/users/ erikaegorova/view/320615/, http://www.chitalnya.ru/board/2011- 03-20/11/, http://www.invalirus.ru/ forum_topic_old.html?id=6487&page=3 , http://mirrasteniy.com.ua/?p=267, http://images.yandex.ua/yandsearch?text, http://www.dekor-it.ru/close/2.3_3_acacia-dealbata.html, alex-levitas.livejournal.com, http://fotki.yandex.ru/users/ol-pershi/view/416692/?page=2, http://fotki.yandex.ru/users/lubabelaya1/view/448929/?page=2, http://www.falconlabs.ru/encikloped. php?elsh=1717, http://privet.ru/user/AnnaZe/guestbook?page=409, http://gudak.artphoto.pro/fullscreen.aspx?id=319361, photografieren.narod.ru, http://fotki.yandex.ru/users/ fotialex/view/355758/, http://clubs.ya.ru/ 4611686018427392254/posts.xml?tb= 260&tag=760165, http://il-divo.ru/forum/5-94-16, http://www.zvetki.ru/rf7-Acacia.htm, http://larece.ru/?p=6165

Among the whole variety of acacia species, false white, tree-like yellow and shrubby silver have gained mass distribution in culture - it is on its branches that cute fluffy flowers of bright yellow color bloom, which everyone traditionally calls mimosa. There are many dwarf varieties, which, due to their compactness, can grow on the windowsill.

Acacia is a plant from the legume family (Fabaceae). Homeland - Australia. The genus includes more than a thousand species, of which, as room culture armed acacia (A. armata) is grown.

This is an evergreen undersized (up to 1 m) shrub. Stems are prickly; leaves are leathery, with extended petioles, dark green, 1–3 cm long; flowers in the form of golden balls with a diameter of up to 1 cm.

Below are photos, names and descriptions of acacia varieties, as well as recommendations for growing indoor species.

Yellow acacia tree: photo and description of decorative species

yellow acacia, or caragana treelike (Caragana arborescens)- a well-known, such a familiar tree, covered from the end of May and throughout June yellow flowers. Everyone calls it an acacia, but in fact it is a tree-like caragana, and real acacias grow in hot tropical countries.

The scientific name of the genus Caragana comes from the Latin word for the dark brown foxes that once lived in the thickets of this shrub. The specific name - arborescens is translated from Latin as "tree-like".

Karagan is bred as ornamental shrub. Thanks to prickly stipules, dense foliage, which is created by complex paired, slightly pubescent leaves.

As you can see in the photo, a yellow acacia can serve as a hedge:

This is unpretentious shrub, which is not demanding on the soil, moreover, contributes to its improvement, since nitrogen-fixing bacteria settle in the root tissues.

The yellow acacia plant is not afraid of frost, frost and drought, it grows well after any haircut. Many birds find a nesting place in the thickets, and the seeds spilled from ripe bean fruits serve as excellent food for them.

The yellow acacia tree is a good honey plant; bees, while collecting nectar, simultaneously contribute to cross-pollination.

Shrub acacia silver or mimosa (with photo)

Acacia silver, or mimosa (Acacia dealbatax)- This evergreen shrub or a low tree with graceful double-pinnate, soft numerous leaves comes from Australia. In Russia, the silver acacia is well nestled and successfully grows on Black Sea coast Caucasus.

These photos show how beautiful the silver acacia is at the time of flowering:

Perhaps no one here calls this plant silver acacia, everyone calls it mimosa, although real mimosa (genus Mimosa) grow in the tropics of America, Asia and Africa, and in Russia - only in greenhouses.

Beautiful shoots of this variety of acacia with small pale yellow flowers in capitate or spike-shaped inflorescences with a special light spicy-sweet invigorating aroma are called mimosa and have long become a symbol of spring.

It was at this time, when snow is still everywhere in central Russia, that the time of its flowering comes in the historical homeland of the silver acacia. In late February - early March, mimosa begins to bloom in southern Russia. From there, bouquets of this plant come to every home and fill with the mood of anticipation of spring and the holiday.

See what the silver acacia looks like in these photos:

White acacia: description and application of the plant

white locust or Robinia false acacia (la. Robinia pseudoacacia)- it's extremely beautiful tree in natural conditions grows in eastern and central North America. It was first brought to Europe in 1601. In France, in Paris, one of those specimens is still preserved.

When describing the white acacia, it is especially worth noting its longevity; in suitable conditions, it lives up to three hundred years or more. It was brought to us in the 70-80s of the XVIII century. Initially, it was planted only in Ukraine, in the gardens of rich estates. After 100 years, it began to be used for planting in shelterbelts and along railways. But its distribution was limited for a long time by weak frost resistance.

However, there was a person who was not satisfied with this situation. And before the war, frost-resistant acacia appeared. And not just anywhere, but immediately near Moscow, although before that it had not grown north of Kursk, and it froze there too. After sorting through several thousand seed samples, Professor A.S. Yablokov received several specimens from the nursery of the All-Union Research Institute of Forestry and Melioration of Forestry, which successfully survived frosts up to 40 ° C in 1939–1942 and bloomed and fruited every year. The descendants of these acacias now grow in many cities north of the former border of its distribution. The northernmost fruit-bearing white locust has reached right up to Vologda region. There are several trees in my botanical garden, they did not freeze even at 42 degrees below zero in 1979.

One of important characteristics when describing a plant, white locust - high growth rate and unpretentiousness. It is able to grow on almost barren sands, which was used in the Baltic states, where it was planted to strengthen the creeping sands on the dunes of the Curonian Spit. The roots of the white locust spread up to 20 m from the tree and easily give root offspring, therefore, with sufficient illumination, the white locust quickly forms thickets. Moreover, it is one of the fastest growing breeds. Already a one-year-old seedling can grow up to 1 m by the end of the year, and a coppice shoot that has grown on the roots of an old tree grows up to 2–2.5 m during this time. Of course, these data are for optimal, southern conditions, but no one complains about the slow growth of acacia. For two years - the growth is higher than human growth.

The white species of acacia is a tall, sprawling tree with a strongly wrinkled bark, an openwork crown, unpaired-pinnate leaves with six to eight pairs of leaflets. By evening, the leaves fall down vertically, during the day they are spread horizontally, forming a "ladder", and therefore do not obscure each other. However, in too bright sun, the leaves rise and turn edge to the falling rays, which protects them from overheating, the tree is photophilous.

The stipules of each leaf are turned into sharp spines. On the branches of an old tree, they are not so large, but on coppice shoots they reach 2 cm and look intimidating, especially since there are two of them near each leaf.

Look at the photo - acacia flowers are white, very fragrant, 1.5–2 cm in size, collected in dense drooping brushes, 10–20 cm long:

There are so many of them on the tree that during flowering it becomes completely white. The fruit is a bean, it is flat, 5-10 cm long. The beans are collected in a brush and remain on the tree until spring, and sometimes autumn of the next year. The seeds of the white locust are poisonous.

White acacia has very beautiful, durable wood, old trees reach a thickness of 70 cm. Old branches are very fragile, you need to be careful when picking flowers: you just need to pull a little harder on the branch, and it breaks. In the south, the white locust reaches 26 m (an eight-story house) in height, in our middle lane it is much lower - 6–7 m.

Acacia white grows on almost any soil. Propagated by root suckers and seeds. Seeds are harvested in winter or early spring. For quick germination, they are poured with boiling water for 10-15 seconds and immediately after that they are sown in pots or boxes. The seeds sown in March or April in May turn into well-developed seedlings, which are planted on a separate bed according to the scheme 20 × 45 cm, and next spring transplanted to permanent place. The first two or three years, acacia grows slowly, but in subsequent years, growth can reach 50–70 cm. Plants bloom already for 4–5 years.

Acacia white has a high winter hardiness. At a temperature of -30 ° C, the tops slightly freeze annual shoots. dead or damaged areas branches are pruned in summer. Pests and diseases in conditions middle lane Russia is practically absent.

As you can see in the photo, this kind of acacia is decorative at any time of the year:

In summer, the openwork crown is very attractive, and during flowering (June-July), the tree is strewn with clusters of fragrant flowers.

In the leafless period, the architectonics of plants is unique. Old and young branches of mature trees bend roundly in a horizontal plane. AT winter period Numerous fruits give the plant a decorative effect.

Likes warm, sunny places. Excellent background plant. In group plantings creates a light green background due to the transparent crown and openwork foliage.

Robinia flowers, as this plant is scientifically called, contain a large number of essential oil used in perfumery. Flowers are also used in medicine - for diseases of the kidneys and bladder, as a choleretic agent, for flavoring tea collections.

And in the south, where the robin is the most common plant, its flowers have found other uses. They are dipped in batter and fried like donuts. Of course, you have to spit out the twigs, but it's still delicious. From the flowers of a white acacia, you can make exactly the same marmalade as from rosehip petals. True, for the first days it smells strongly of green peas, then this smell disappears and the marmalade acquires the aroma of acacia flowers. In addition to a pleasant smell, it is also a pretty light green color, unlike rose hips, which quickly turns from pink to beige. In one box, they look very nice. You can also make flower wine from white acacia with a very delicate taste. Recently it turned out that acacia wine has long been made in Germany, where it is considered a tonic drink.

In 1900, in St. Petersburg, a description of the acacia plant was given in a very interesting book. These are four small format, but plump volumes with a long title “The Complete Russian Illustrated Herbal Dictionary and Flower Garden, compiled according to the latest botanical and medical works by doctors E.N. Zalesova and O.V. Petrovskaya. This dictionary contains all kinds of Russian local names for each plant, its origin is indicated, given short description and ways to use. So, it is written about white acacia: “White acacia is a fragrant acacia. In Moldavia and Wallachia, fragrant water is insisted on flowers and sherbet is prepared. Moldavia and Wallachia, lying near the Danube, were at one time under strong Turkish influence, hence some dishes of Turkish origin, including such as sherbet.

Here you can see photos of acacia species, the description of which is given on this page:

Growing and caring for room acacia at home

To grow acacia at home, the following conditions must be met.

Lighting. The plant is photophilous. In winter, it needs a 4-hour artificial extension of daylight hours.

Temperature. The optimum temperature for the growth and development of home acacia in summer is 20 ° C, in winter - not lower than 5 ° C.

Air humidity. At low room temperatures, acacia does not need to be sprayed.

Every 2 years, the acacia must be replanted, waiting for the end of flowering.

Pests and diseases. If the care when growing acacia was not thorough enough, the plant may be affected by aphids,. At high humidity and temperature in winter, root rot is possible.

If the stems of the plant are covered with a sticky liquid, then this is definitely a trace of sucking pests - aphids, whiteflies, thrips, after which honeydew remains on the plant, which later becomes covered with black mold. Collect insects, then treat the plant with an insecticide.

When transplanting a plant in the ground, you can see centipedes. If their number does not exceed 2–3 individuals, then there is nothing to worry about, but if there are more than 5–6 of them, then the plant must be urgently transplanted, completely replacing the substrate. Centipedes are dangerous for seedlings, rooted cuttings, because they gnaw the roots, as a result of which the plant stops developing.

(amorpha)- “shapeless” - was given to this bean bush by Carl Linnaeus due to the “irregular” shape of the flower corolla, which has only one sail. A flower, devoid of most of the details put to it, really looks strange. If in peas and lupine the stamens are “disguised” inside the corolla, then in amorphous they stick out in plain sight - yellow on a blue background. The amorphous inflorescence is also exotic - a dense narrow-conical panicle.

Despite all the above "defects", amorpha is one of the most beautiful flowering shrubs in its family.

Endure - fall in love?

Our country garden It is diverse in its relief, soil conditions, and illumination options. Thanks to the unique microclimate, plants take root in it, which, according to book information, are risky to plant even in Voronezh. The subtropical paulownia, for example, has been growing since 2004, and there has not yet been any signal from it that it might ever get tired of it. Belamkanda, which connoisseurs consider extremely fastidious, not only grows, but also generates germinating seeds. Magnolia kobus practically does not freeze with wood, and blooms every year. And once every 3-4 years - scree.

In fact, in terms of the reliability of exotic shrub trees, I am a pragmatic skeptic, and I am not fourteen years old to be a reckless optimist. I understand perfectly well that any of the listed persons may freeze one day. And that's not what you've seen!

About amorph in the old book it is written in black and white: "withstands frosts down to -18 o C." Another source gives her a little more - minus 20 o C. - How does this shrub endure minus -30 o C without signs of freezing, and only slightly freezes at -35 o C !? - I ask a rhetorical question. My version of the answer is that the above data on the frost resistance of amorpha were blindly borrowed by the authors from foreign sources. I myself once subtracted the same figure -18 o C in a translated English book. Amorpha there, by the way, united in one company with a strawberry tree and palm-shaped maple - and Santa Claus is really not a friend for these guys.

This pretty shrub appeared in our family garden so long ago that no one can remember where it actually came from. Since the topography of the site is reminiscent of mountainous Switzerland, and the soils are very diverse, I tested amorphous in the most opposite conditions. It turned out that she agrees to grow even under the canopy of trees, on a cold, light-loamy northern slope. But the shrub reached its most magnificent development on a completely open southern slope with sandy loamy soil. At the same time, no matter where the amorpha grew, not a single plant not only fell out, but practically did not freeze.

In general, not everything that “you can’t cut down with an ax” can be trusted!

Acacias: white, yellow, Amur ... Let there be also blue!

Russians habitually operate with the word "acacia", not even suspecting that those whom they mean have nothing to do with real acacias. Under the name of the yellow acacia, we have a tree-like caragana (Caragana arborescens). The name white locust firmly clung to the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) . Amur acacia is commonly called Amur maakia (Maachia amurensis).

Why do these three perform under pseudonyms? Everything is explained by the similarity of their leaves with the leaves of real acacias. (Acacia). And they are usually large in acacias, and have a complex doubly pinnate structure, like fronds in some ferns. In this case, the final lobes of the leaves look like small (or very small) oval leaflets. There are often several hundred such leaves on one sheet. Imaginary acacias also have complex leaves, but they are significantly inferior to the real ones both in the size of the leaves and the number of shares in them. Caragana has 8-14 of them, Robinia has 7-19, Maakia has from 11 to 23.

But let us finally turn to our heroine amorphe. Her leaves are also pinnately dissected, and in the number of leaves (from 13 to 41) she surpasses all the above-named "acacias". It seems to whom, if not her, to be called an acacia? If the amorpha could speak, she herself would probably protest against her dissonant name:

Don't call me that! Why am I worse than others? Call me acacia. Blue acacia!

So, let's agree from now on. There is no amorphous shrub, let's forget this strange name. It doesn't suit beauty. " blue acacia"- that's how you should call this shrub!

For you to know

Genus acacia (Acacia) in the legume family is one of the largest (more than 1300 species). Real acacias are, as a rule, trees, less often shrubs adapted to the hot climate of deserts and savannahs. Russians for the most part have no idea about real acacias. The only acacia that an ordinary Russian can see is the well-known "mimosa", she is a silver acacia (Acaciadealbata), a tree native to Australia, widely cultivated in Transcaucasia.