What is cassie?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
February 9, 2004
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The huisache or sweet acacia (Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willdenow) is a woody legume thought native to warm temperate or tropical America. The tree is now found in warm zones throughout the world. The small thorny tree is best known for "cassie", the sweet violet fragrance of the spherical inflorescences of tiny yellow flowers.
Sweet acacia probably spread because of its wonderful fragrance, but various cultures have found the tree and its products useful. Planted close together, the somewhat spindly trees and their short white thorns create a living fence and check erosion. But the trees also improve the soil; symbiotic bacteria associated with the roots fix atmospheric nitrogen for use by plants. Cut, the hard wood makes durable ground-contact fence posts.
Plant of the Week 02/02/2004
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Sweet Acacia (Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willdenow)
The huisache or sweet acacia is a small thorny tree in the Mimosa tribe of the Fabaceae, the legume family. There are over 800 species of Acacia in the world; various species are native to Africa, Australia, and the Americas. Sweet acacia is a plant with a mysterious past; it is thought native to warm temperate and tropical America, but the tree is now found on every continent with latitudes between 30 degrees N and 40 degrees S. No one is certain how the sweet acacia spread around the globe.
Plant of the Week 02/02/2004
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In Mexico and Central America, an ointment made of the flowers and rubbed on the forehead is reputed to relieve headaches. Powdered dried sweet acacia leaves sprinkled into wounds is said to aid healing. The unripe seed pods contain a gummy substance that is used in Java to mend broken crockery. In Cuba, the gum from the pods decocted (boiled with water) is a treatment for conjunctivitis (pink eye) and a gargle for sore throat.
In India, twigs of sweet acacia are used as chew sticks, the wood fibers acting as a natural toothbrush and the gummy roots are chewed to alleviate sore throats.
"Cassie" is extracted by adding the macerated flowers to melted purified fats. The fats are strained and new flowers added until the fats are saturated with the fragrance. Once saturated, the fats are re-melted, strained, and cooled. This first extraction is called a concrete. In some cultures, the concrete is used as a pomade or dressing for hair.
If alcohol is mixed into the fats and allowed to stand for about a month at below freezing temperatures, the fragrance transfers to it. Distillation separates the fragrance from the alcohol. What is left is a dark yellow, greenish, or brown viscous liquid--cassie absolute, one of the scarcest ingredients in fine perfumes.
Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk has posted "Plants of Hawaii" including a page of images of sweet acacia, now a pest plant on the islands. To view the photographs taken by Forest and Kim Starr, click on the link:
http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/acacia_farnesiana.htm
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the images.
(Compiled from: Hortus Third, Staff of Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium, New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, 1976; "Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd.", John A. Parrotta, USDA Forest Service; and "Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd." James A. Duke, Handbook of Energy Crops, unpublished, 1983)
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