Herbarium JCB

Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC.

Family : MIMOSACEAE
(Pea Or Bean Family)
Family (Hindi name) : BABOOL FAMILY (बबूल फैमिली)
Family (as per The APG System III) : LEGUMINOSAE
Subfamily : Mimosoideae
Basionym : Mimosa juliflora Sw.
Synonym(s) : Prosopis chilensis sensu Henry et al. Fl. Tamil Nadu, India 1: 139. 1983; non (Molina) Stuntz 1914.
Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC.
Common name : Mesquite
Vernacular name : Vaelikkaruvai, Semai parambai (Tamil); Sarkar humma (Telugu); Vilaithi kikkare, Vilaithi Kejra (Hindi); Bellary jali (Kannada)
Habit : Tree
Habitat : In plains, sometimes gregarious in wastelands
Comments / notes : Introduced. Ever-increasing source of fuel for local people and for agricultural implements. Planted for land reclamation. Self-sown in wastelands. There is no similarity between species Prosopis chilensis and P. juliflora but taxonomists always confuse and treat them as synonyms. You can see the type specimens in Jstor http://plants.jstor.org/stable/viewer/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.si002474 and http://plants.jstor.org/stable/viewer/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.s-r-3632. Prosopis chilensis (Molina) Stuntz presence in India is doubtful.
Key identification features : A small armed tree; branches spreading with stipular spines. Pod pale yellow and curved
Flower, Fruit : October-May
Distribution :
- Karnataka : Ballari district
- Maharashtra : Akola district
- Tamil Nadu : All districts of Tamil Nadu
Native : Tropical America
World Distribution : Tropics of the World
Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
Literature : H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1; Pullaiah et al., 2001 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 2; N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka; Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983; Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1.; Kamble & Pradhan, 1988. Flora of Akola District, Maharashtra. Botanical Survey of India.
Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Raja K Swamy, Deepak Kumar, Arun Singh R. and K. Gopalakrishna Bhat (2019). Flora of Peninsular India. http://peninsula.ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Prosopis juliflora. Downloaded on 3 June 2024.