Acacia polyacantha Willd.

 
  • Family : MIMOSACEAE
    (Pea Or Bean Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : BABOOL FAMILY (बबूल फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Leguminosae
  • Subfamily : Mimosoideae
  • Synonym(s) : Mimosa suma Roxb.; Acacia suma (Roxb.) Buch.-Ham. ex J. Voigt
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Acacia polyacantha Willd.
  • Common name : White Cutch tree, White catechu
  • Vernacular name :
    • Swetakhair (Hindi)
    • Muguli (Kannada)
    • Kovaalai mullu maram (Tamil)
    • Tellachandra, Tellasundra (Telugu)
    • Gonhareu, Somi (Oria)
    • Kadarah (Sanskrit)
    • Sonkhairi (Marathi)
    • Venkaringali, Somarayatholi (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Tropical dry deciduous forests
  • Comments / notes : In foothills to 900m. Bark used for tannin
  • Key identification features : Bark white or greyish smooth peeling off in small papery flaks, marked at intervels by horizontal patches of darker colour; flowers white
  • Flower, Fruit : February-October
  • Distribution :
    • Karnataka : Ballari district, Kolar district, Belagavi district, Bidar district, Chitradurga district, Hassan district, Mysuru district, Tumakuru district, Uttara Kannada district
    • Kerala : Palakkad district
    • Maharashtra : Akola district
    • Odisha : Puri district, Kalhandi district
    • Tamil Nadu : Dharmapuri district, Coimbatore district, The Nilgiri district, Tiruvannamalai district, Vellore district, Salem district, Villipuram district, Cuddalore district, Tiruchirapalli district, Tirunelveli district
    • Delhi : Delhi
  • Native : Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Caprivi Strip, Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Norther
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Caprivi Strip, Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
    • N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka
    • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1
    • Saldanha & Nicolson, 1976 - Hassan
    • Saldanha, 1984
    • Rao & Razi, 1981 - Mysore
  • Read more :
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Acacia polyacantha. Downloaded on 3 April 2025.

Botanical Description

Field Image(s)

Habitat

India Distribution

World Distribution

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