\\.\ I II. m;(.imin<)sa:. 439 



iiiiuulc, tfi'iiiiuiil. IVnl tiirgiil, cvliiulric or oblong, sti-iiiglit, falcate or 

 variously twisted, septate between tbe .seeds' ; niesocarp thick, spongy. 

 iSeeds usually ovoid, compressed. — DisTuiu. Tropical and subtropical 

 regions of the world ; species 18. 



rimm! 1 -2 pairs ; ])od 4 S in. long 1 . P. npiiif/em. 



rimiif y-i') pairs; pod .^1 in. lung 2. P. Stfpluniiaiia. 



1. Prosopis spicigera, Lhin. Mantiss. (17(>7) p. 68. A tree, 

 30-()U ft. bigb, sending its roots many feet into the ground ; branches 

 slender, glabrous, armed vcith nearly straight, scattered, somewhat 

 coinpress(;d prickles g-,| in. long (very rarely unarmed). Leaves 

 2-piunate ; main rbaciiis glabrous or puberulous ; pinntc usually 2 pairs, 

 opposite, 1-3 in. long, often with round insect-galls on their rhachises. 

 Leaflets 7-12 pairs, ||-^ by ^-^'V '"^•' ■''iibsessile, oblong, obliquely rounded 

 and muei'onate at the apex, very unecjual-sided, the upper side much the 

 smaller, reticulately veined, grey, glabrous, base rounded and very 

 oblique. Flowers sessile or nearly so, in short-peduncled axillary spikes 

 and terminal panicles ; bracts small, membranous. Calyx jL in. long, 

 membranous, cup-shaped, faintly 5-toothed or truncate. Corolla yellow, 

 ^ in. long. Pods 4-8 in. long, turgid, .straight, slender, cylindric, 

 torulose, glabrous, narrowed gradually into a short stalk and filled with 

 a brown farinaceous edible substance. Seeds 10-15, dull-brown, oblong, 

 El. B. I. V. 2, p. 288 ; Grab. Cat. p. 57 ; Dalz. & Gibs. p. 84 ; Bedd. 

 rior. Sylvat. t. 56; Aitch. Pb. & Sind PI. p. 53; Talb. Trees, Bomb, 

 ed. 2, p. 149 ; AVoodr. in Journ. Bomb. Nat. v. 11 (1898) p. 428 ; 

 AVatt, Pict. Econ. Prod. v. 6, part 1, p. 340.— Flowers : Dec-Mar. 

 A^ERN. Shemi ; Saundad ; Suniri ; Kandi. 



Gi'JAKAT : Lan\ Woodrow. Sind : Stocks\, IVaodrowl; Karachi to Mugger Peer, 

 rrrri/]-, SI)ikarpiir, Cooke I ; Euk, Too/.-e I— Distuib. India (Panjab, Kajputana, 

 13andelkhand, and dry regions of W. Peninsula) ; Beliichistan, Afghanislan. Persia. 



'LMie lariaaceoiis substance wliich the pods contain is hirgely consumed as food by 

 the poorer classes ; the pods are also an excellent fodder for camels and goats. The 

 wood is not durable, but furnishes good fuel. See Watt, Diet. Econ. Prod. 1. c. 



2. Prosopis Stephaniana, Kunth, in Sjirair/. S//st. v. 2 (1825) 

 p. 32t). A slirub or sn)all tree ; branches puberulous, whitish when 

 young, armed with numerous sharp slender pale-yellow prickles. Leaves 

 2-pinnate, 1-2 in. long ; main rhachis finely downy ; petioles short ; 

 pinnjB 3-5 pairs, their rhachises finely downy. Leaflets 8-12 pairs, 

 i-i by TjL-jV '"•' siibsessile, oblong, very oblique, closely downy beneath 

 and with ciiiate margins. Flowers in axillary spikes which are much 

 longer than the leaves. Calyx cu])-shaped, -/^ in. long, membranous, 

 obscurely 5-tootlied. Petals ^-i in. long, o\ate-oblong, acute, yellow. 

 Stamens 1<>. Ovary glabrous. Pods stalked, |-1 by |-^ in., oblong, 

 obtuse, black, filled \\ith a soft pulp. El. B. 1. v. 2, p. 288 ; Benth. in 

 Hook. Journ. Bot. v. 4 (1842) p. 347 ; AN^oodr. in Journ. Bomb. JS'at. 

 V. 11 (1898) p. 428 ; A\^att, Diet. Econ. Prod. v. 6, part 1, p. 342. 



Very rare in the Bombay Presidency. Gujarat: Goga, Woodrow. — Distrib. India 

 (Panjab) ; Caucasus. Orient, Afghanistan. 



The pods arc often infested with insects and become large and irregular in form. 

 They are employed for tanning in Afghanistan. 



