Consumption has dropped from 70,000 tons in 1972 to 20,000 tons today. This should not prohibit the extensive planting of A. senegal in and zones, however. For ecological reasons alone. The gum comes from bushes that grow in the and mountains of countries from Pakistan to Greece, particularly Iran and Turkey. Plants are widely scattered and gum is usually collected unsystematically by villagers.
Plants develop a mass of gum in the center of the root, which swells in the summer heat.
If the stem is slit, a ribbon of soft gum is exuded. Its deliberate cultivation in appropriate regions may be rewarding. However, little is known about the environmental and genetic factors that enhance gum yields and quality. Although these non-food gums are of little commercial interest internationally, they may be used for local technological applications. All such species give poor quality gum, usually dark, with a high tannin content, and of poor solubility.