Herbarium JCB

Acacia sinuata (Lour.) Merr.

Family : FABACEAE
(PEA OR BEAN FAMILY)
Family (as per The Plant List) : Leguminosae
Subfamily : Mimosoideae
Species : Acacia sinuata
Basionym : Mimosa sinuata Lour.
Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Acacia sinuata (Lour.) Merr.
Common name : Soap-Nut Acacia, Washing Pod Tree
Vernacular name : Shikakai, Satala (Hin.); Shikakaai balli, Seege kai (Kan.); Seeyakkaai (Tam.); Sigekai, Shikayi (Tel.); Sikai (Ori.); Saptala (San.)
Key identification features : A prickly, climbing shrub with compound leaves. Leaf rachis is prickly and has glands. Flowers are aggregated to form heads with red sepals and white petals. The heads are in racemes or in panicles. Fruit is a dry dehiscent pod.
Habit : Climbing Shrub
Flower, Fruit : January-June
Comments : Occasional in deciduous forersts and in scrubland on foothills to 1400 m. Pods are powdered and used as a soap/shampoo.
Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
Distribution Locality : Bellary district, Kolar district (Karnataka State); Dharmapuri district, Kalrayan Hills (Salem district) (Tamil Nadu State); Srikakulam district, Visakhapatnam district, East Godavari district, Kadapa district (Andhra Pradesh State); Puri district, Angul district, Ganjam district (Odisha State)
World Distribution : India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, South China, Malesia, New Guinea
Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2001 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 2; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1 ; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District; N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka; Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983.
Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Arun Singh R., Deepak Kumar, Raja K Swamy and Navendu Page (2016). Digital Flora of Eastern Ghats. http://easternghats.ces.iisc.ernet.in/plants.php?name=Acacia sinuata. Downloaded on 29 June 2024.