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Acacia nilotica ssp. indica
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Family:
FABACEAE/LEGUMINOSAE (Subfam.: Mimosoideae)
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Citation: Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. ex Del. ssp. indica (Benth.) Brenan, Kew Bull. 12: 84. 1957; Vajr., Fl. Palghat Dist. 185. 1990; Sanjappa, Legumes Ind. 42. 1992; Chakrab. & Gangop., Journ. Econ. Tax. Bot. 20: 619. 1996; Sasidh., Fl. Chinnar WLS 118. 1999; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 263. 2009; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 332. 2009.
Mimosa nilotica L., Sp. Pl. 521. 1753.
Acacia arabica Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 2: 293. 1878, non (Lam.) Willd. 1808; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 425(301). 1919.
Acacia arabica Hook. f. var. indica Benth. in Hook.'s London J. Bot. 1: 500. 1842.
Mimosa arabica Lam., Encycl. 1: 19. 1783.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Karivelum, Karuvelakam, Babool
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
Babul tree, Black babool, Indian gum arabic tree
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Description:
Trees, to 8 m high; bark black with deep narrow longitudinal fissures, running spirally up the tree, exudation gummy; blaze pinkish-brown; branchlets blackish or greyish, smooth, the young ones densely pubescent with short stiff patent hairs. Leaves bipinnate, alternate, stipulate; stipular spines in pairs, upto 5 cm, straight, slender, white with grey spots; rachis 5-7 cm, slender, pulvinate, grooved above, pubescent; pinnae 4-9 pairs, 1.5-3 cm, slender, with a gland near the lowermost pinnae on upper side, pubescent; leaflets 20-40, opposite, sessile; lamina 3-4 x 1-2 mm, linear, oblong or linear-oblong, base oblique, apex obtuse, margin entire, glabrous, chartaceous; midrib more or less central, lateral nerves obscure. Flowers bright yellow, in heads on axillary peduncle; involucre of 2 bracteoles near or above the mid peduncle; calyx campanulate, 1-2 x 0.8-1.5 mm, glabrescent, teeth triangular to ovate; corolla 2.5-3.5 mm long, often puberulous, lobes oblong to ovate; stamens many, 4.5-5 mm long, filaments basally connate; ovary terete, stipitate, puberulous; style 5.5-6.5 mm long. Fruit a pod 7.6-23 x 1.3-2 cm, flattened, strap-shaped, straight to slightly curved, deeply constricted between seeds, bullate over seeds, beaked at apex; densely grey-felted, glaucous, greyish-green, turning black on drying, attenuate at base into stipe, dehiscent; seeds 8-13, flat 5 x 4 mm, black.
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Habit:
Tree
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Flowering & Fruiting:
July-October
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District(s):
Wayanad, Alappuzha, Idukki, Palakkad
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Medicinal:
Yes
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Habitat:
Introduced and planted
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Distribution:
North India to North Africa through West Asia
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
Yellow
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
Yes
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Garden:
No
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Edible:
No
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Vegetable:
No
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
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Localities:
Chinnar, Walayar, Kavalam
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