Senegalia senegal (synonym:
Acacia senegal) is a small
thorny deciduous tree from the genus
Senegalia, which is known by several common names, including
Gum acacia,
Gum arabic tree,
Senegal gum and
Sudan gum arabic. It is native to semi-desert regions of
Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as
Oman,
Pakistan, west coastal
India. It grows to a height of 5-12m, with a trunk up to 30 cm in diameter.
S. senegal is the source of the world's highest quality
gum arabic, known locally as
hashab gum in contrast to the related, but inferior, gum arabic from
Red acacia or talah gum.