Acacia.] XXXI. LEGUMINOS^E. 187 



than calyx. Pods stipitate, thin, brown, shining, 2-3 in. long, J-J in. 

 broad, seeds 3-10. 



Common in most parts of India and Burma. Apparently not indigenous in 

 Sindh, but common in the Aravalli hills, and in the sub-Himalayan tract, 

 extending west to the Indus, and ascending to 3000 ft. in the valleys. Ceylon, 

 and Eastern Africa. Generally gregarious in the sub-Himalayan tract, on islands, 

 and the banks of rivers near their entrance into the plains. Fl. May-July ; 

 fr. autumn ; the pods remain long on the tree. The old leaves are shed in Feb.- 

 March ; the new foliage appears March- April. 



30-40 ft. high, trunk short, not very straight, 4-6 ft. girth, attaining 10 ft. 

 Branches straggling, thorny ; foliage light, feathery. When cut or lopped it is 

 often reduced to a low-tangled shrub, with long, thorny branches. Bark -|-f in. 

 thick, dark grey, or greyish brown, in old trees nearly black, rough and exfoli- 

 ating in long narrow strips or scales. Inner bark reddish, fibrous. Sapwood 

 large, yellowish white ; heartwood dark red, extremely hard, annual rings in- 

 distinct. Medullary rays numerous ; pores uniformly distributed, each sur- 

 rounded by a patch of lighter-coloured tissue. Cunningham determined the 

 weight of wood grown in Gwalior at 70.2 lb., the value of P. resulting from his 

 experiments is 779. Of wood grown in the Central Provinces, the weight is 

 given as 75.4 (R. Th.), (76.5 unseasoned), and 79.2 (Centr. Prov. List). These 

 last figures are high, and the question naturally arises whether the woods 

 were really seasoned. From Burma two varieties are mentioned in my list 

 of Burma woods (1862), Nos. 29 and 30, weighing 56 and 70 lb. respectively. 

 There is thus still some uncertainty regarding the weight of the wood of this 

 tree, and this uncertainty is increased by the confusion which has hitherto 

 existed in the nomenclature of this and the allied species. Skinner's list does 

 not contain A. Catechu, but he describes two woods which he calls Acacia 

 Suma {Telia Sundra, Telugu), weight 77, P. = 801, and Acacia Sundra {Nulla 

 Sandra, Telugu), weight 8 1 , P. = 9 1 5. R. Thompson gives the weight of A . Sundra 

 (from the Centr. Prov.) at 60 lb. seasoned, and 81 lb. green. I do not venture 

 to decide to which of the species here described these specimens belonged. The 

 wood seasons well, takes a fine polish ; the sap is apt to be eaten by insects ; the 

 heartwood is exceedingly durable, even more so than Teak. It is not attacked 

 by white ants, and not touched by Teredo navalis. It is used for rice-pestles, 

 sugar-cane and oil-seed crushers, cotton-rollers, wheel- Wright's work, ploughs, 

 bows, spear- and sword-handles. In Burma it is preferred to all other woods 

 for house-posts. In North India it is considered to yield the best charcoal for 

 blacksmith's work. The bark is very astringent, rather bitter, in places used 

 for tanning. The most valuable product of the tree, however, is Catechu 

 {Katha). The heartwood is cut into chips, which are boiled in water in 

 earthen pots, the red solution is poured off, and boiled again over fresh chips, 

 and after this has been repeated several times, it is boiled down in large round 

 flat iron bowls to the thickness of a black paste, which, when dry, is the Cutch 

 of commerce, a heavy compact mass, with a shining dark-brown or black 

 fracture. In this manner Cutch is manufactured in Pegu, and the preparation 

 of it in India is similar. Pale Catechu is a more earthy substance of dull red- 

 dish colour. Madden (1. c. 565) describes the Katha made in Kamaon as crys- 

 tallising on leaves and twigs thrown into the concentrated liquor. Cutch or 

 Catechu is a most valuable article, extensively consumed in the East with the 

 Betel-leaf, and largely exported to Europe for dyeing and tanning. It is bitter 

 and very astringent, and is used medicinally (Pharm. Ind. 62). 



12. A. Suma, Kurz. MSS. Syn. Mimosa Suma, Roxb. Fl. Ind. ii. 563 ; 

 111. in Herb. Kew, t. 1867 ; Acacia Catechu, Benth. 1. c. 510 ; Bedd. Fl. 





