A small tree some 15-20 feet high on an average, which is commonly met with in the more northerly provinces, especially in Sokoto, where it grows in dense thickets. It branches low down and is often shrub-like in its young stages, later producing a bole some 6 feet in length. The branches, ascending at an angle of about 60 degrees, repeatedly fork and form an open, flat-topped crown from which some of the long straight twigs protrude some feet above. It is a source of gum-arabic. =The Bark= of young trees is very light in colour with a creamy tint, that of older trees, especially those which grow in the open, is purple on the bole, with patches of the lighter tint here and there. All over it are minute, whitish scales, so fine that they rub off in the hand as a fine powder, like that of _Acacia Seyal_. Here and there, according to season, are larger, thicker grey scales, chiefly about wounds or on the swollen forks. The bark is very thin and if scratched with the nail shows the bright green cambium layer just under the surface. The slash is mottled red. =The Thorns= are in threes at the swollen nodes. The centre thorn is sharply recurved like a claw, the two side thorns being almost straight and pointing forward towards the tip of the twig. All are short, very sharp, with broad bases, like rose thorns, dark brown to almost black in colour, with a greyish bloom. =The Wood= is white, but of such small dimensions that it is not used. =The Leaves= are bipinnate, 3-4 inches long, with some six pairs of pinnae, each with some 20 pairs of leaflets, blue-green in colour and paler below than above. The ribs are covered with very short hairs. =The Flowers= which appear in April are in 3-4 inch long spikes, one or two at the nodes. From ½-1 inch of the spike is flowerless, the rest densely covered with small creamy-white flowers, each having a pale green 5-lobed calyx, five pale green petals and a large mass of short, white stamens with a pistil indistinguishable amongst them. =The Fruits= are pods, varying in size according as they contain 1-6 seeds. They ripen in November and remain on the tree till April, often a very heavy crop on the leafless tree. They are 1½-4 inches long and an inch broad, flat, slightly shiny, embossed at the seeds, sometimes the same width throughout, sometimes indented on the margin between one seed and another, sandy in colour, with often blotches of a darker colour. They split either whilst on the tree or fall entire and open on the ground, the seeds remaining attached to each half alternately and the two halves attached at the stalk. The seeds are round, flat, green-brown, with a U-shaped scar on each side and attached to the pod edge by a short, thick stalk. The pod is prominently cellular veined. =Uses.=—The bark of the roots is twisted into ropes which are of great strength. [Illustration] =ACACIA SEYAL= Del.—_Dushe, Dussa, Jimshi, Erafi, Gishishiya_. “_Talh_.” LEGUMINOSAE.