Red Acacia: Learn All About This Lovely and Majestic Tree
Red acacia is a tree very attractive because of the color of the flowers. It is engaging to learn more about the red acacia. For this reason, if you want to learn more, read on to learn about its characteristics as well as its various uses.
Due to its beauty, it is a valued ornamental tree in gardens and parks. For this reason, we will check in which places or regions it can be found most often.
Characteristics of the red acacia
The red acacia owes its name to the color of the flowers of this plant. In addition, it should be taken into account that it is a tree that can measure up to eight meters in height. Sometimes, however, it can reach twelve meters.
As for the leaves, they are dense and extensive. Depending on the region you are in, you may lose the leaves if you are in regions with a very extreme desiccated climate. However, if the conditions are not so harsh, the leaves are preserved all year round.
On the other hand, it should be taken into account that Red acacia is a medicinal plant. Therefore, in some parts of the world, e.g. in Mexico, the bark of this tree is used to treat inflammation of the joints and in cases of rheumatism.
It is also used to treat problems associated with cough and bronchial asthma.
Scientific name of red acacia
He scientific name of red acacia This is Delonix regia. The red acacia belongs to the legume family, like the seyal acacia or longifolia acacia. However, it belongs to a completely different subfamily: caesalpinioideae; and to a different tribe than the two mentioned above: caesalpinieae.
This is the classification that botanists create for the red acacia. However, as we have already seen, the scientific name red acacia is delonix regiaSo both names can be used, although it also depends on the context in which they are used.
On the other hand, it is also engaging to know etymological origin of red acacia. For this reason, let’s check where its scientific name comes from and what it means. In this way, we will discover why the red acacia is given the name delonix regia.
Well, the two words that make up the scientific name of the red acacia come from two different languages: Greek and Latin. In the case of the word Delonix, it is in turn a compound word in Greek; the first word is délos, which means obvious, certain; the second is onyx, whose meaning is claw. So this word means noticeable claws; this expression refers to the petals of the flower that the plant produces.
In the case of the word Regia, it is of Latin origin and means royal. The word means majesty; and so is the case of the red acacia. However, it has other names similar to its scientific name; some of them are Poinciana Regia Hook and Poinciana regia Bojer. In both cases, these are scientists who also studied and made critical discoveries about this plant.
red acacia flower
A flower, or rather red acacia flowers They are huge flowers, consisting of four petals per flower. Each petal can be up to about eight centimeters long. It also has a fifth petal, which is the longest and is between yellow and white in color.
On the other hand, there is a variety of this acacia, called acacia flavida, whose flowers, instead of being red, are yellow. In this way, several species of Delonix regia can be recognized by its scientific name, Delonix regia.
red acacia seeds
The seeds are packed, so to speak, in pods, which, when ripe, are dim brown. They are about two feet long and two inches wide.
In the case of seeds, their weight is about four milligrams each. This means that they are miniature. In addition, the leaves are thirty to forty centimeters long. Its leaves are pinnate. That is why it has different parts of the leaflets on each leaf; these also come in pairs.
On the other hand, the red acacia is a species of acacia native to Madagascar. However, this species has spread to other parts of the world. However, it is disappearing in its place of origin because it is in endangered red acacia.