420 XXIII. LEGUMINOSAE 



in the Deccan, appears to be a xerophytic form of the typical variety. (3) Var. 

 cupressiformis , the ramkanta or ramkati hahul or kahuli kikar. This variety 

 is recognized by its broom-like (cupressiform) ascending branches : the stem is 

 tall and the branches are thin. It is fomid in parts of the Pmijab, Sind, Raj- 

 putana, and the Deccan, where it is fairly common in the Poona district. 

 In Berar there is a religious prejudice against using its timber. The word 

 ramkati signifies Rama's kati or wand. 



The present account of this tree will relate to the telia or typical variety 

 unless the contrary is stated, since this is the important variety for forest 

 purposes. 



Distribution and habitat. General distribution. Acacia arahica is 

 probably indigenous in Sind, Rajputana, Guzerat, and the northern Deccan ; 

 it is cultivated or self-sown throughout most of the drier parts of India, but 

 not in the extreme north-west of the Punjab, where the winter cold is too 

 severe. It is not found in the moister regions. It has been introduced into 

 parts of the dry zone of Upper Burma and has spread to some extent. It is 

 essentially a tree of the plains, occurring on flat or gently undulating ground 

 and ravine country, but not extending into hilly regions. The tree is found 

 also in Africa and Arabia. 



Climate. The babul is characteristic of dry regions, but will not thrive 

 without irrigation if the climate is too arid. In regions where it is indigenous 

 or has become naturalized the absolute maximum shade temperature varies 

 from 105 to 122 F., the absolute minimum from 30 to 60 F., and the normal 

 rainfall from 3 to 50 in. In re'gions of low rainfall such as Sind, however, 

 the existence of the tree is rendered possible only by river inundations : 

 otherwise it is doubtful if the babul is capable of flourishing with a rainfall 

 of less than 20 in., in which connexion Talbot remarks : ^ ' Quite recently 

 a very large area (over 50,000 acres) of reserved forest in the Poona district, 

 where laborious efforts had been made over a long series of years to raise 

 hahul, had to be disforested, as it was found that the rainfall was insufficient, 

 even in good soil, to produce anything but small, stunted, and decaying stems 

 of very little climatic or economic value.' 



Soil. The two commonest types of soil on which the babul occurs are 

 riverain alluvium subject to inundations and black cotton soil. The former 

 is exemplified on a large scale in Sind and to a lesser extent along the rivers 

 of the Deccan. Black cotton soil is common in many parts of the Peninsula 

 and in the southern part of the Indo-Gangetic plain. It is a stiff soil which 

 absorbs large quantities of water in the rainy season, becoming sodden like 

 a sponge : in the dry season it dyies and contracts, forming large deep cracks 

 all over the surface of the ground, and it is only by sending its long taproot 

 down into the moister subsoil beneath that the young plant is able to survive 

 the dry season and establish itself. 



Apart from the two classes of soil mentioned, however, the tree is also 

 frequently found on other types of soil, for example over large stretches of 

 country on alluvial loam in the plains of northern India, on loamy soil in the 

 Peninsula, and in tank beds in the Madras Presidency. In any type of soil, 

 however, it is essential that there should be a sufficient degree of permanent 



1 For. Flora Bombay, i. 482. 



