Text丨Heart beads are long, typesetting丨Heart beads are long
Acacia flowers are blooming, clusters of white flowers, hanging in the treetops, the breeze blowing, and the fragrance is fragrant.
It was opened quietly, and it was discovered in just a day or two. Some "gourmets" take a big long pole and tie a sickle to pick acacia flowers.
There were a lot of acacia flowers on the ground, and a mess of branches, which began to wilt in the sun.
Today, I would like to talk to you about "acacia", this exotic plant, why is it so attractive to people's taste buds?
01
Acacia, also called Robiniaceae, is a deciduous tree of the subfamily Pseudoacacia in the subfamily Legume butterfly. A tree species that is more common in rural areas.
Acacia is supposed to be named after the native acacia of the mainland. It is a bit similar to the Chinese acacia, all of which are pinnate compound leaves and butterfly-shaped flowers.
The bark of the acacia is gray-brown to brown, and the base of the leaves has many thorns, which are quite piercing, so the acacia is also called black locust. "Thorny" is also a feature that distinguishes it from the national acacia.
Acacia, pinnate compound leaves, leaflets with 2-12 pairs, opposite. The length of the whole leaf is 10-40 cm.
The leaflets are oval, oblong, or ovate, entire, green on the front and gray-green on the back, and the overall leaves appear lighter in color than the Chinese acacia.
At the base of the acacia leaves, there are supporting leaves, in particular, its supporting leaves have become needle-shaped, generally called "supporting leaf thorns", generally the old thorns are harder, and the tender thorns are green, not so prickly.
This is the leaf I picked up under the tree, look at its "leaf thorns", it is lignified and sharp.
Below is the "leaf thorn" on its young branches, which looks quite long, but not hard, and it is okay to touch it.
02
The flowers of the acacia are axillary, raceme-like, the inflorescence is drooping downward, a spike of spikes.
Flower spikes 10-20 cm long, typical butterfly-shaped flowers, corolla white, basal calyx obliquely bell-shaped, 7-9 mm long, calyx teeth 5, green or purplish-red in color.
The acacia blooms from April to June, and when the flowers bloom, the fragrance is rich and refreshing.
In addition to the white flowers, the acacia also has a variant of purple flowers.
The leaves are very tall, with thorny leaves, small leaves 7-19, and the flowers look larger than acacias.
Coincidentally, on the middle road of the Shadowless Mountain, there is also a safflower black locust. It was also passed by the "gourmet", and there were some small purple flowers scattered under the tree, which I picked up and made a comparison.
Below is the acacia branch I picked up on the hillside of the Traffic College, and last year's fruit is still hanging on it. The flattened pods are withered.
In this way, the flowers and fruits of the acacia can be regarded as complete.
Acacia is native to the eastern United States and was introduced to the continent in the late 18th century with the invasion of Western powers. It was originally cultivated in Qingdao.
According to the cultural and historical data "Huangdao Village" in Huangdao District, Qingdao City, around 1898-1899, Nantun Village, Wopeng Village, Yantan Village, etc., all have records describing that Chinese people were required by the German army to plant acacia.
Acacia was originally cultivated as a shelterbelt, it has strong drought resistance, easy survival, and strong reproductive ability, and is now planted in the "south of the Northeast Tieling to the Yangtze River Basin".
Acacia has a well-developed root system, but the root system is shallow. I remember that last summer, after a big wind and rain, several acacia trees on the middle road of Wuying Mountain were uprooted.
03
In many places, there is a habit of eating acacia flowers.
Whenever the acacia flowers are in full bloom, there are some gourmets who go over the mountains and mountains to pick acacia flowers.
The mother-in-law of a friend of mine even took the bus to pick in the southern mountains. And the acacia flowers on the city roads, there are also "gourmets" who dare to try them.
In my hometown, I don't eat acacia flowers, saying that if I eat them, my face will be swollen.
And on my mother-in-law's side, Zaozhuang, they all eat acacia flowers.
Acacia flowers can be eaten in a variety of ways, and can be used to make vegetable cakes, dumplings, egg drop soup, or mixed with some bean flats to make "tofu dishes".
At first, I didn't dare to eat it, but after I tasted it, my face was not swollen, so I dared to eat a little.
In early summer every year, "acacia flowers" can also be seen in supermarkets in Jinan, packed in fresh-keeping boxes, and sold in small boxes and small boxes. There are many people who like to eat.
After all, it is not a native plant of the mainland, and it has only been cultivated in the mainland for a hundred years, and whether you eat it or not still depends on your personal physique.
Here is a reminder that the locust rice that is used in medicine is the national acacia, not the acacia.
I didn't pay attention to where the acacia thorns came from, but now I have noticed that they are its "leaf thorns".
When I picked up the acacia flowers on the ground, I was so happy that I didn't notice that the thorns on it were stabbed hard, and my hands were still quite painful.
About the Author
Heart-Beads: Intermediate Agronomist, Plant Lover. Welcome to "Wandering Grass and Trees" to share plant knowledge and experience the beauty of the countryside. The heart of grass and trees, the taste of the countryside, savoring, wandering!