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Umbrella Thorn Acacia

Vachellia tortilis

Status: A once common tree throughout southern Egypt, however over-harvesting as a food source for livestock, and firewood has depleted population within the native range. The decline is cause for concern because the tree is a resource for the regional fauna, in particular bats that are endangered.

In Ancient Egyptian lore, the first gods were born under the thorny branches of the Tree of Life, the sacred acacia. The thorny trees were known as a tree of life and death. While the brewed leaves and the sweet flowers have many beneficial healing herbal uses, as a natural defense to being over-grazed, acacias release a poisonous tannin in their leaves that can cause death.

Lusaaset the was the feminine aspect of creation, with Atum being the male. The pair were worshiped in the city of Heliopolis as primordial beings, and acacias stood at the entrance to Lusaaset's sanctuary. In an early story of Osiris, god of the underworld, he was tricked and killed by his brother Typhon. Typhon put the body to rest in a large sarcophagus and set it into the Nile. The waters washed the chest away and it finally came to shore at the base of a large acacia. The tree's roots and branches grew around the sarcophagus, enveloping the box and its contents, and immortalizing Osiris within death.

The tree also has Biblical significance, for when God told Moses to build the Tabernacle, the instructions included the Ark of the Covenant made of acacia wood, and it is thought that Christ's crown of thorns was woven from acacia.

 

References:
Hart, George. (2005). The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, 2nd Edition. Routledge.

Bleeker, C. J. (1973). Hathor and Thoth: Two Key Figures of the Ancient Egyptian Religion. Brill.

"Plants of the Bible - ODU Plant Site". Old Dominion University. 11 April 2007.

"Osiris", Man, Myth & Magic, S.G.F Brandon, Vol5 P2088, BPC Publishing.