Needle Bush
Encyclopedia
Vachellia farnesiana, also known as Acacia farnesiana, commonly known as Needle Bush, is so named because of the numerous thorns distributed along its branches. The native range of V. farnesiana is uncertain. While the point of origin is Mexico
and Central America
the species has a pantropical distribution incorporating Northern Australia
and Southern Asia
. It remains unclear whether the extra-American distribution is primarily natural or anthropogenic. It is deciduous
over part of its range, but evergreen
in most locales. The species grows to a height of up to 8 metres (26.2 ft) and has a life span of about 25–50 years.
The plant has been recently spread to many new locations as a result of human activity and it is considered a serious weed
in Fiji
, where locals call it Ellington's Curse. It thrives in dry, saline or sodic soils. It is also a serious pest plant in parts of Australia, including north-west New South Wales, where it now infests thousands of acres of grazing country.
The taxon name "farnesiana" is specially named after Odoardo Farnese (1573–1626) of the notable Italian Farnese family which, after 1550, under the patronage of cardinal Alessandro Farnese, maintained some of the first private European botanical gardens in Rome, in the 16th and 17th centuries. Under stewardship of these Farnese Gardens
this acacia was imported to Italy. The plant itself was brought to the Farnese Gardens from the Caribbean and Central America, where it originates. Analysis of essences of the floral extract from this plant, long used in perfumery, resulted in the name for the sesquiterpene
biosynthetic chemical farnesol
, found as a basic sterol precursor in plants, and cholesterol precursor in animals.
content. Highly tannic barks are common in general to acacias, extracts of many being are used in medicine for this reason. (See cutch).
to produce a perfume
called Cassie. It is widely used in the perfume industry in Europe
. Flowers of the plant provide the perfume essence from which the biologically important sesquiterpenoid farnesol
is named.
Scented ointments from Cassie are made in India
.
in much of its range, with a protein
content of around 18%.
some people use the seeds of V. farnesiana to eliminate rabid
dog
s. This is attributed to an unnamed toxic alkaloid
.
to make an essential oil
called Cassie which is used as a basis for aromatherapy
and perfume
.
V. farnesiana has been used in Colombia
to treat malaria
, and it has been confirmed in the laboratory that extract from the tree bark and leaves is effective against the malarial pathogen
Plasmodium falciparum
. Indigenous Australians
have used the roots and bark of the tree to treat diarrhea
and diseases of the skin
. The tree's leaves can also be rubbed on the skin to treat skin diseases.
One or more alkaloids present in Vachellia farnesiana: "phenethylamine
; N-methly-.beta.-phenethylamine
; tyramine
; hordenine
; N,N-dimethyl-phenethylamine; and N,N-dimethyl-.alpha.-methylphenethylamine" in the "leaves, bark, and roots."
The following compounds are said to be in Vachellia farnesiana:
Ether extracts about 2-6% of the dried leaf mass. Alkaloids are present in the bark.
) Cuntich, (Jamaica
) Cassie-flower, Cassie, Iron Wood, Cassie Flower, Honey-ball, Casha Tree, Casha, (Virgin Islands
) Cassia, (Fiji
) Ellington's Curse, Cushuh, (St. Maarten).
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
the species has a pantropical distribution incorporating Northern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Southern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. It remains unclear whether the extra-American distribution is primarily natural or anthropogenic. It is deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
over part of its range, but evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
in most locales. The species grows to a height of up to 8 metres (26.2 ft) and has a life span of about 25–50 years.
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
in Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, where locals call it Ellington's Curse. It thrives in dry, saline or sodic soils. It is also a serious pest plant in parts of Australia, including north-west New South Wales, where it now infests thousands of acres of grazing country.
The taxon name "farnesiana" is specially named after Odoardo Farnese (1573–1626) of the notable Italian Farnese family which, after 1550, under the patronage of cardinal Alessandro Farnese, maintained some of the first private European botanical gardens in Rome, in the 16th and 17th centuries. Under stewardship of these Farnese Gardens
Farnese Gardens
The Farnese Gardens are a garden in Rome, central Italy, created in 1550 on the northern portion of Palatine Hill, by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese...
this acacia was imported to Italy. The plant itself was brought to the Farnese Gardens from the Caribbean and Central America, where it originates. Analysis of essences of the floral extract from this plant, long used in perfumery, resulted in the name for the sesquiterpene
Sesquiterpene
Sesquiterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of three isoprene units and have the molecular formula C15H24. Like monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes may be acyclic or contain rings, including many unique combinations...
biosynthetic chemical farnesol
Farnesol
Farnesol is a natural organic compound which is an acyclic sesquiterpene alcohol found as a colorless liquid. It is insoluble in water, but miscible with oils...
, found as a basic sterol precursor in plants, and cholesterol precursor in animals.
Some of the reported uses of the plant
Bark
The bark is used for its tanninTannin
A tannin is an astringent, bitter plant polyphenolic compound that binds to and precipitates proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.The term tannin refers to the use of...
content. Highly tannic barks are common in general to acacias, extracts of many being are used in medicine for this reason. (See cutch).
Flowers
The flowers are processed through distillationDistillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
to produce a perfume
Perfume
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and/or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent"...
called Cassie. It is widely used in the perfume industry in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Flowers of the plant provide the perfume essence from which the biologically important sesquiterpenoid farnesol
Farnesol
Farnesol is a natural organic compound which is an acyclic sesquiterpene alcohol found as a colorless liquid. It is insoluble in water, but miscible with oils...
is named.
Scented ointments from Cassie are made in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Foliage
The foliage is a significant source of forageFodder
Fodder or animal feed is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some is of animal origin...
in much of its range, with a protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
content of around 18%.
Seeds
The seeds of V. farnesiana are completely non-toxic to humans and are a valuable food source for people throughout the plant's range. The ripe seeds are put through a press to make oil for cooking. Nonetheless an anecdotal report has been made that in BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
some people use the seeds of V. farnesiana to eliminate rabid
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s. This is attributed to an unnamed toxic alkaloid
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
.
Perfume
Acaci farnesiana flowers are distilled in the south of FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to make an essential oil
Essential oil
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove...
called Cassie which is used as a basis for aromatherapy
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine that uses volatile plant materials, known as essential oils, and other aromatic compounds for the purpose of altering a person's mind, mood, cognitive function or health....
and perfume
Perfume
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and/or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent"...
.
Traditional medicine
The bark and the flowers are the parts of the tree most used in traditional medicine.V. farnesiana has been used in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
to treat malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, and it has been confirmed in the laboratory that extract from the tree bark and leaves is effective against the malarial pathogen
Pathogen
A pathogen gignomai "I give birth to") or infectious agent — colloquially, a germ — is a microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus that causes disease in its animal or plant host...
Plasmodium falciparum
Plasmodium falciparum
Plasmodium falciparum is a protozoan parasite, one of the species of Plasmodium that cause malaria in humans. It is transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito. Malaria caused by this species is the most dangerous form of malaria, with the highest rates of complications and mortality...
. Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
have used the roots and bark of the tree to treat diarrhea
Diarrhea
Diarrhea , also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having three or more loose or liquid bowel movements per day. It is a common cause of death in developing countries and the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide. The loss of fluids through diarrhea can cause dehydration and...
and diseases of the skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
. The tree's leaves can also be rubbed on the skin to treat skin diseases.
One or more alkaloids present in Vachellia farnesiana: "phenethylamine
Phenethylamine
Phenylethylamine or phenethylamine is a natural monoamine alkaloid, trace amine, and also the name of a class of chemicals with many members well known for psychoactive drug and stimulant effects. Studies suggest that phenylethylamine functions as a neuromodulator or neurotransmitter in the...
; N-methly-.beta.-phenethylamine
Beta-methyl-phenethylamine
β-Methylphenethylamine is a stimulant drug of the phenethylamine chemical class that is related to amphetamine . It is found in Acacia species i.e. Acacia rigidula, Acacia greggii, Acacia schaffneri and notably Acacia berlandieri . The latter produces a paralytic condition in livestock....
; tyramine
Tyramine
Tyramine is a naturally occurring monoamine compound and trace amine derived from the amino acid tyrosine. Tyramine acts as a catecholamine releasing agent...
; hordenine
Hordenine
Hordenine is a phenethylamine alkaloid with antibacterial and antibiotic properties. It stimulates the release of norepinephrine in mammals, working as a stimulant...
; N,N-dimethyl-phenethylamine; and N,N-dimethyl-.alpha.-methylphenethylamine" in the "leaves, bark, and roots."
The following compounds are said to be in Vachellia farnesiana:
- 5-MeO-DMT5-MeO-DMT5-MeO-DMT is a powerful psychedelic tryptamine. It is found in a wide variety of plant and psychoactive toad species and, like its close relatives DMT and bufotenin , it has been used as an entheogen by South American shamans for thousands of years.-Chemistry:5-MeO-DMT was first synthesized in...
- TryptamineTryptamineTryptamine is a monoamine alkaloid found in plants, fungi, and animals. It is based around the indole ring structure, and is chemically related to the amino acid tryptophan, from which its name is derived...
- β-methyl-phenethylamineBeta-methyl-phenethylamineβ-Methylphenethylamine is a stimulant drug of the phenethylamine chemical class that is related to amphetamine . It is found in Acacia species i.e. Acacia rigidula, Acacia greggii, Acacia schaffneri and notably Acacia berlandieri . The latter produces a paralytic condition in livestock....
, flower.
Ether extracts about 2-6% of the dried leaf mass. Alkaloids are present in the bark.
Common names
Farnese Wattle, Dead Finish, Mimosa Wattle, Mimosa bush, Prickly Mimosa Bush, Prickly Moses, Needle Bush, North-west Curara, Sheep's Briar, Sponge Wattle, Sweet Acacia, Thorny Acacia, Thorny Feather Wattle, Wild Briar, Huisache, Cassie, Cascalotte, Cassic, Mealy Wattle, Popinac, Sweet Briar, Texas Huisache, Aroma, (Bahamas) Cashia, (Bahamas, USA) Opoponax, Cashaw, (BelizeBelize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
) Cuntich, (Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
) Cassie-flower, Cassie, Iron Wood, Cassie Flower, Honey-ball, Casha Tree, Casha, (Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
) Cassia, (Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
) Ellington's Curse, Cushuh, (St. Maarten).
Botanical varieties
- Vachellia farnesiana var. farnesiana
- Vachellia farnesiana var. guanacastensis H.D.Clarke et al.
External links
- Dr. Duke's Database
- Interactive Distribution Map of Vachellia farnesiana
- Acacia farnesiana Israel Native Plants