Riyadh Plants
Arad Acacia, arad
A tree with a flat-topped or, when old, rounded crown and a pronounced trunk, A. etbaica grows naturally in the coastal foothills of western Saudi Arabia on limestone and granite rocky slopes, and in the sandy sediments of wadis. It is often predominant in the scrub vegetation of a semi-desert. It has brown, fissured bark, and bears white flowers on few-flowered heads; branches, leaves and seed pods are glabrous. The fruit is a purplish-red oblong pod, also shiny and straight. The tree has several subspecies in Africa which have thorns that are straight, hooked or a mixture of both. A. etbaica is a good source of firewood and timber. The bark has medicinal properties. As with other indigenous acacias, and owing to its high drought tolerance, the tree has a landscape value and can be planted in extensive landscape schemes, where a natural woodland setting is the objective.
