Vachellia caven (Roman cassie, aromita, aromo criollo, caven, churque, churqui, espinillo, espinillo de baado, espino, espino maulino)[3] 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 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) in diameter.

Vachellia caven
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Vachellia
Species:
V. caven
Binomial name
Vachellia caven
(Molina) Seigler & Ebinger[1]
Varieties[2]
Range of Vachellia caven
Synonyms
  • Acacia caven (Molina) Molina
  • Acacia cavenia (Molina) Hook. & Arn.
  • Mimosa caven Molina
  • Mimosa cavenia Molina[3]

Ecology

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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.[4]

The flowers of V. caven are used as food for bees in the production of honey.[5]

Uses

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Erosion control

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The tree is used for erosion control.[5]

Ornamental tree

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The tree has ornamental uses.[5]

Industrial

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Tannin from the seed pods is used for tanning hides.[6] 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.[5]

The flowers are used in perfume.[5][6]

References

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  1. ^ Seigler DS, Ebinger JE. (2005). "New combinations in the genus Vachellia (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) from the New World". Phytologia. 87 (3): 139–78.
  2. ^ Pometti CL. et al. 2007. Morphometric analysis of varieties of Acacia caven: (Leguminosae, Mimosoideae):Taxonomic inferences in the context of Argentine species. Pl.Syst. and Evol.264,239-249
  3. ^ a b ILDIS LegumeWeb
  4. ^ C. Michael Hogan (2008) Chilean Wine Palm: Jubaea chilensis, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg Archived 2012-10-17 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b c d e "handbook on seeds of dry-zone acacias". fao.org.
  6. ^ a b "Acacia caven". fcien.edu.uy.
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