Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Acacia

ACACIA, a genus of plants belonging to the mimosæ, one of the leading divisions of the great leguminous order of plants. They abound in Australia, in India, in Africa, tropical America and generally in the hotter regions of the world. Nearly 300 species are known from Australia alone. They are easily cultivated in greenhouses, where they flower, for the most part, in winter or early spring. The type is perhaps the Acacia Arabica, or gum arabic tree, common in India and Arabia. It looks very beautiful with its graceful, doubly pinnate leaves and its heads of flowers like little velvety pellets, of bright gamboge hue. Other species than the A. Arabica produce gum arable. That of the shops is mostly derived from the A. vera, a stunted species growing in the Atlas mountains and other parts of Africa.

Source: Collier's New Encyclopedia 1. (1921) New York: P.F. Collier & Son Company. 15.