Common Names

Cape gum
Egyptian thorn
Gum Arabic tree
Gum acacia
Gum Arabic
India gum tree
Bablah pods
Acacia bambolah
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Parts Usually Used

Gum
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Acacia is a small, spiny, leguminous tree or shrub. After the rainy season ends, the stem begins to exude gum, which is collected from December to June for marketing as gum Arabic. The acacia has alternate, bipinnate leaves and axillary racemes of yellow flowers arranged in globose heads. The fruit is an oblong pod.
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Where Found

Grows in sandy soil, mostly in tropical Africa
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Medicinal Properties

Demulcent, mucilaginous
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Legends, Myths and Stories

Acacia was a sacred wood for the ancient Hebrews. Moses used acacia wood in building the Ark of the Covenant and the sacred Tabernacle (see Exodus, chapters 25-40).

According to Near-Eastern Christian legend, a thorny species of acacia was used for Christ's crown of thorns.

Moapa Paiute name for acacia is "Pah oh pimb." Used for inflammation of the eyes, due to dust; vaqueros and travelers habitually carry acacia seeds and put 4 in each eye on retiring.
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Uses

Gum Arabic's main effect is to form a protective, soothing coating over inflammations in the respiratory, alimentary, and urinary tracts. It is helpful for coughs, sore throat, and catarrh, eyewash, diarrhea, and dysentery. Sweetened, it is sometimes used for typhoid fever.
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Formulas or Dosages

Gum Arabic is usually dissolved in water to make a mucilage.

Mucilage: a dose is from 1 to 4 tsp.

Syrup: mix 1 part mucilage with 3 parts of a syrup. A dose is from 1-4 tsp.
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Bibliography

• Back to Eden, by Jethro Kloss; pgs., 204-205.
• Indian Uses of Native Plants, by Edith Van Allen Murphey, pg., 39.
• The Herb Book, by John Lust, pgs., 87, 543, 575-576.
• Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, pg., 6.

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