Acacia.] XXXI. LEGUMINOS^E. 185 



Flowers fragrant. Calyx green, teeth short, triangular, corolla and fila- 

 ments white. Anthers lemon-yellow. Pod thin, flexible, pubescent 

 when young, brown when ripe, sub-dehiscent, thickened at the edges, 

 veined on the surface, linear-oblong, 3 in. long, f in. broad. (The speci- 

 mens collected in Eajputana are without prickles on the petioles.) 



Dry rocky hills of Sindh, Northern Aravalli hills, near Kishengarh, Todgarh, 

 and Bednor. In flower and fruit in Dec. 1869 (D.B.) Bark smooth, yellowish 

 grey, wood light yellow, heavy and hard, with small irregular masses of black 

 heartwood in the centre. Takes a beautiful polish. Used for weavers' shuttles. 

 Exudes gum, which is collected in Sindh, and sold with that of A . arabica. 



Another species, with 3 infra-stipular prickles and an armed petiole, but 

 with a short broad pod 2 in. long, is A. hamulosa, Benth. 1. c. 509. Aden and 

 Arabia. 



8. A. modesta,* Wall. PL As. rar. t. 130; Jacqu. Voy. Bot. t. 56; 

 Boissier Fl. Orient, ii. 638. Syn. A. dumosa, W. & A. Prodr. 274. 

 Mimosa dumosa, Boxb, Fl. Ind. ii. 559, and probably M. obovata, Roxb. 

 ib. 561. Vern. Palosa, Afg. ; Phala, phaldi, phulahi, Pb. 



A thorny, moderate-sized tree, rarely unarmed, with grey foliage. 

 Glabrous, a few scattered hairs on petiole and peduncle. Armed with 

 twin, strong, shining dark-brown conical infra-stipular prickles. Leaves 

 pale grey or glaucous ; pinnae 2-3 pair ; leaflets 3-5 pair, obliquely oblong 

 or obovate. Common petiole 1-2 in. long, a small round gland below the 

 lowest pair of pinnae. Stipules minute, deciduous. Flowers white or 

 pale yellow, sweet-scented, nearly sessile, in lax, cylindrical, drooping 

 spikes, the spikes solitary or 2-3 together, 1-2 in. long, on slender ped- 

 uncles. Petals connate beyond the middle. Pod stalked, flat, indehis- 

 cent, linear-oblong, 2-3 in. long, J in. broad. Seeds 3-5, compressed. 



Trans-Indus, in places abundant, in the plains and on the east flank of the 

 Suliman range, ascending to 4000, and at times to 4500 ft. Common in the 

 Salt range, and in the northern part of the Panjab plains, extending to Saharan- 

 pur and Delhi. Sub-Himalayan tract and outer hills between Indus and Sutlej, 

 ascending to 3000 ft. Afghanistan. Leaves change in March. Fl. March, 

 April, the white flower-spikes contrasting elegantly with the delicate green 

 colour of the young foliage ; but the flowers fade soon, and the leaves turn into 

 an ash-grey colour. Fr. autumn ; the pods remain on the tree for months. 



25-30 ft. high, trunk short, at times 10-12 ft. girth ; branches stiff, divaricate, 

 forming a bushy, rounded crown. Branchlets drooping. Bark rough, with a 

 multitude of irregular narrow cracks. Sapwood large, coarse-grained, somewhat 

 glossy on a longitudinal section. Heartwood dark brown, nearly black, close- 

 grained, compact and heavy. Stewart found the cub. ft. of seasoned wood to 

 weigh 53.4 to 56 lb., and of green wood 69.5 to 76 lb. Strong and durable, prized 

 for cart-wheels, sugar-cane crushers, ploughs, teeth of harrows, and Persian 

 water-wheels. A tasteless gum exudes from wounds in the bark. The leaves 

 and fallen blossoms are collected for cattle-fodder. 



The tree is readily raised from seed, and answers admirably for hedges. Its 

 growth is slow, much slower than that of Sissoo or Kikar. 



9. A. ferruginea, DC. ; Bedd. Fl. Sylv. t. 51 ; W. & A. Prodr. 273. 



* I retain "Wallich's as the safer name, being supported by his excellent figure and 

 description, for the identity of the tree with A. dwnosa, W. & A., might possibly be 

 doubted. 



