camel thorn

noun

variants or less commonly camel's thorn

1

a

: a low spiny shrub (Alhagi camelorum) of the Arabian desert that yields manna

b

: a related shrub (A. maurorum)

2

: an East Indian spiny shrub (Zizyphus nummularius) used as fodder for sheep and goats

3

: any of several southern African acacias

especially : a browse plant (Acacia giraffae) of the veld

Word History

Etymology

so called from the use of its seed as feed for camels

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