Senegalia megaladena
Senegalia megaladena is a spiny climber, shrub or tree, native to Jawa, and from mainland Southeast Asia to China and India. It is eaten as a vegetable and used as a fish poison. It is named after its distinctive large gland on the petioles. Description. The species grows as a robust climber (stems can measure up to 50mm d.b.h.) or as a straggly shrub or tree (from 4 to 10m tall), and is perennial. The leaves are bipinnate. Distinguishing features for the species are: rather prominently raised petiole gland whose position is variable, commonly near middle  of petiole, 1-5-5mm in length, with a length to width ration of 0.7 to 2.5, and orange to orange-brown in colour when fresh. The autonym "megaladena" variety is distinguished by having 4 to 8mm long leaflets, usually 0.8 to 1.5mm in width, with visible lateral veins (though sometimes obscure, sometimes quite evident). It flowers in Yunnan from July to September, fruits from December (rarely) to February. The "indochinensis" variety has smaller leaflets, ranging from 2mm, usually 3 to 4mm , and up to 5mm long, some 0.4 to 0.6mm wide, with  the lateral veins usually not visible or sometimes extremely faint. Flowering occurs in Hainan from July to September, while mature fruit have been collected in April. Distribution. The species is found in Jawa and from Mainland Southeast Asia to Zhōngguó/China and India. Countries and regions where the plant grows as a native include: Indonesia (Jawa); Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia); Thailand; Cambodia; Vietnam; Zhōngguó/China (Hainan, Yunnan); Laos; Myanmar; India (including Andaman Islands, Assam); Bangladesh; East Himalaya; and Nepal. The variety "indochinensis" grows as a native in an area from Peninsular Malaysia to Vietnam and Hainan in Zhōngguó/China. Countries and  regions that it occurs in as a native are: Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia); Thailand; Cambodia; Laos; Vietnam; and Zhōngguó/China (Hainan). It has been introduced to Jawa in Indonesia. Habitat and ecology. Growing as a climber or as a spiny shrub in Southeast Asia, The "indochinensis" variety occurs in secondary forests, in clearings or alongside roads. It grows in open forests in Zhōngguó/China at between 100 and 400m altitude. In Zhōngguó/China the "megaladena" variety grows in forests that range from open to dense, or in thickets. It is associated with sandstone mountains, and is recorded from 230 to  1400m in altitude. Maslin "et al." comment that "[i]n Jinping County where we observed living plants they were quite common in the general area but occurred singularly or in groups of a few individuals." Vernacular names. In Cambodia the species is known as "sâ-âm" (Khmer language). The plant is known as "klae kwo" amongst Karen people of Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand. In China the species is referred to as 钝叶金合欢, "dùn yè jīn hé huān". Another name that has been used is the English language "obtuse-leaflet senegalia". Uses. In Cambodia the leaves are eaten raw or  cooked as a vegetable, while the roots and bark are used to poison fish. The plant is used to a moderate extent by Karen people in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. The bark and roots provide an insecticide smoke, and are pounded to be used as a fish poison. The leaves are cooked as a vegetable. The leaves and stem are also used to treat itching, either pounded and applied as a liniment or burnt so as to smoke. History. The species was described in 2013 by the team of Bruce Maslin (born 1946), David Stanley Seigler (born 1940), and John  Edwin Ebinger (born 1933). Maslin is an Australian botanist specialising in "Acacia sensu lato". They published their article "New combinations in Senegalia and Vachellia (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae) for Southeast Asia and China" in the journal Blumea. The "indochinensis" variety was described in the same publication. The French botanist, Nicaise Auguste Desvaux (1784-1856) described the taxa "Acacia megaladena" in 1814 in the "Journal de Botanique, Appliquée à l'Agriculture, à la Pharmacie, à la Médecine et aux Arts" (Paris). That remained the species name until "Acacia" was demonstrated to be polyphyletic and the genus "Senegalia" was accepted. The species epithet comes from  the Ancient Greek "megalos" (large) and "adenos" (gland), alluding to the relatively large petiole gland.