184 XXXI. LEGUMINOSiE. [Acacia. 



6. A. leucophlsea, Willi Tab. XXVII. W. & A. Prodr. 277; Bedd. 

 Fl. Sylv. t. 48. Syn. Mimosa leucojMcea, Eoxb. Cor. PL t. 150 ; Fl. 

 Ind. ii. 558. Vern. Reru, raunj, karir, nimbar, North India ; Ringa, 

 ?'inj, reunja, rohani, jhind, C.P. ; Arinj, areinj (Khejra in South Meywar, 

 near Bassi and Sadri), Bajputana ; Raundra, runjra, Banswara ; Jhand, 

 Jallander Doab, and about Delhi ; Hewar, South. Mar. country. 



A thorny tree, branchlets, petioles, leaves, and branches of inflores- 

 cence grey-tomentose. Armed with strong, straight stipular spines. 

 Common petiole 1-2 J in. long; pinnae 5-12 pair; small, circular, cup- 

 shaped glands generally at the insertion of each pair. Leaflets 12-30 

 pair, linear. Flowers pale yellow, nearly white, in globose heads, on 

 short peduncles, arranged in large terminal, leafless panicles ; two mem- 

 branous bracts on the peduncle. Pods linear, 4-6 in. long, J in. broad, 

 solitary, or 2-3 on one peduncle, clothed with short brown tomentum. 

 Seeds 8-12. 



Plains of the Panjab from Lahore to Delhi. Siwalik hills, between the Jumna 

 and Kavi. Bandelkhand, Bajputana, the Satpura range, Khandeish, and South 

 India. Ceylon, Burma, and Java. Young leaves in April. Fl. Aug. -Nov., 

 sometimes as early as May ; fr. Nov. -April. 



Attains in places a considerable size, 6 ft. girth, with a crooked, gnarled 

 trunk. Near Amritsar a specimen 15 ft. girth, and 80 ft. high, is said to have 

 been found. Trunk generally taller than that of A. arabica, branches ascending, 

 less numerous. On the dry hills of Mairwara, near Todgarh (normal rainfall 

 about 12 in.), this is a thorny shrub or small tree, with 2-4 pair of pinnae, and 

 8-10 pair of leaflets. 



Bark thin, cinereous, yellowish, or light brown, with few deep narrow, longi- 

 tudinal fissures, and short shallow cross-cracks, smooth between. Inner sub- 

 stance dark brown. Sapwood whitish, open, porous, and coarse-grained; heart- 

 wood small, reddish or dark purple, with darker wavy, concentric streaks, 

 close- and fine-grained. Seasons well, and takes a fine polish, but is somewhat 

 brittle. Strong and tough, but often eaten by insects. Skinner gives the weight 

 of seasoned wood 55, of green wood 62 lb., and the value of P. 860. An ex- 

 cellent fuel for locomotives. 



The bark is ground and mixed with flour during times of scarcity. In South 

 India the bark is largely used in the preparation of spirits from sugar and palm- 

 juice, and it is added on account of the tannin it contains, in order to precipi- 

 tate the albuminous substances of the juice. The right of collecting the bark is 

 often farmed out. By steeping the bark in water for 4-5 days, and beating it, 

 a tough fibre is made, used for making nets and coarse cordage. 



Large woody excrescences are often formed on the branches, somewhat re- 

 sembling those of Prosopis spicigera, but more spongy in structure. Young 

 pods are used as vegetables, and the seeds are ground and mixed with flour. 



7. A. mpestris, Stocks; Boissier Fl. Orient, ii. 638. Vern. Khor, 

 Sindh ; Kumta, Bajputana. 



A small thorny tree, 6-12 ft. high, branchlets and petioles pubescent. 

 Armed with 3 infra-stipular prickles, the 2 lateral straight, the third 

 recurved, all shining brown, compressed, and decurrent. Leaves 1-2 in. 

 long; pinnae 3-5 pair; petiole armed with numerous whitish prickles, 

 with a gland below the lowest pair, and between the end pair of pinnae. 

 Leaflets grey, linear, ciliate. Spikes lax, 3-5 in. long, on short peduncles. 



