The Tree of Love – The Broad Pod Acacia
Everyone may know the origin of the name of the acacia, the broad pod acacia and other acacia plants, there is a phenomenon of night closure, the main reason for the formation of this phenomenon is that there is no light at night, the temperature decreases, some cells at the base of the leaflets lose water, the expansion pressure is reduced, can no longer maintain a firm state, it is closed, to the next day the sun comes out, the temperature rises, the cells absorb water again, and the leaves return to the beginning. Next, let's talk about the "broad pod acacia" in detail.
1. Morphological characteristics:
Albizia lebbeck (Linn.) Benth.) is a genus of legumes, alias: English Common Name (English Common Name, mimosa subfamily, 8–12 m tall; rough bark; young branches densely covered with short soft hairs, old branches hairless. Two pinnate compound leaves; glands near the base of the total petiole and at the apex of the pinnae; leaf shaft is short soft hairy or hairless; pinnae 2-4 pairs, 6-15 cm long; leaflets 4-8 pairs, oblong or slightly oblique oblong oval, 2-4.5 cm long, width (0.9-) 1.3-2 cm, the apex is rounded blunt or slightly concave, hairless on both sides or sparsely hairy underneath, the midrib is slightly biased towards the upper edge.
Cephalic inflorescence flowers are 3–4 cm in diameter; the total peduncle is usually 7–9 cm long, with 1 to several polyphytes in the leaf axils; the small peduncles are 3–5 mm long; the flowers are fragrant, calyx tubular, about 4 mm long, slightly hairy; the corolla is yellow-green, 7–8 mm long, lobed triangularly ovate; the stamens are white or pale yellowish-green. The pods are banded, 15–28 cm long and 2.5–4.5 cm wide, flattened, wheat straw colored, shiny, glabrous, often stored on trees for a long time; 4–12 seeds, oval, about 1 cm long, brown. The flowering period is from May to September, and the fruiting period is from October to May of the following year.
2. Growth habit:
Light-loving tree species, suitable for growing in open areas or shrub forests outside the forest, with poor growth in shade, and large light intensity at the seedling stage. It is suitable for growing under climatic conditions of high temperature and high humidity, water and heat balance. It is generally hardy and can only withstand mild frosts.
This tree species is highly adaptable to soil, and it can grow in sandy, loam or weathered soils developed on different matrixes, but it grows best with fertile, moist, deep soil layers and well-drained loam soils. Drought-tolerant and barren, the soil pH requirements are not high, can resist salt, anti-pollution, long life.
3. Main value:
economic value
The wood has medium gloss, straight grain, white sapwood, dark brown heartwood, and obvious edge material. Strong hardness, toughness, dry shrinkage, but easy to crack, heartwood resistant to insect moths, strong decay resistance, easy cutting processing, smooth cutting surface, markings, paint, adhesive performance is excellent, is excellent furniture materials and building materials, also used for decorative veneers, interior decoration, mosaic boards; wheels, ships: matchsticks, clogs, etc. Broad pods are good nectar plants, leaves, flowers and pods are good fodder, and bark is used in the tannery and soap industry. It grows fast and has strong germination power, and is often planted as a charcoal forest.
Ornamental value
Broad pods of acacia flowers and tree posture have a certain ornamental value, origin or introduction area are used for street or courtyard greening, the landscape effect is better; because of its wide canopy, dense foliage, can also be used as a shade tree for coffee gardens or tea gardens.
Medicinal value
The medicinal value of acacia is also very high, and it can be used in the place of origin to treat boils, coughs, eye diseases, influenza and lung diseases: the bark contains tannins, which can relieve depression, activate blood swelling, and cure depression and insomnia; bark and seeds can cure hemorrhoids; seed oil can be used to treat leprosy, and the seeds are crushed into powder to treat lymphatic swelling; in India, flowers are also used to treat spermatozoa.
Ecological value
Broad pods have a high nitrogen fixation capacity and are one of the preferred tree species for improving soil fertility.
4. Promote the application:
With the promotion of this multi-purpose tree species, more and more such tree species have entered people's vision, and gradually into people's lives, in recent years, the diversity of landscaping materials, so that in the garden aspects of tree species are also diversified. Tree species such as broad pods, which are hardy, have low soil requirements and have a long lifespan, are more likely to be bred and cultivated in large areas. To this end, Acacia has been developed in the list of plant non-test-tube efficient and fast propagation technologies, and will be developed in the next 2-3 years.
Using the plant non-test tube efficient fast propagation technology (TERNPC) invented by researcher Li Changxiao, the micromaterial asexual fast reproduction of broad pods is carried out, and the workers who have undergone simple training can produce 3500 to 5000 seedlings per day, which can produce large-scale rapid reproduction without variation, low cost, short cycle, large-scale and industrialized, and quickly supply seedlings to all sectors of society. Plant non-test tube efficient fast propagation technology is a new plant cloning new system, completely away from the laboratory conditions, seedling facilities are simple, than conventional seedlings greatly save germplasm material, seedling root system is more developed, the amount of explants used in propagation unit materials is 3 to 8 times less than the amount of conventional seedlings; inoculation speed is extremely fast, labor efficiency is extremely high. To a certain extent, it increases the income of farmers and can also create higher returns for investors.