444 XXIII. LEGUMINOSAE 



Madras. Mr. A. W. Lushington ^ records the following girth measurements, 

 presumably excluding bark, based on ring-countings in the Guntur taluk of 

 the Kistna district : 



The sapwood varied from three to six rings in thickness. He mentions 

 elsewhere "^ that some samples gave an average of 1^ rings per inch of radius : 

 this rate of growth, equivalent to a mean annual girth increment of about 

 4| in., is extremely rapid. The soil is black cotton, and the normal rainfall is 

 about 34 in. 



2. Acacia leucophloea, Willd. Syn. Mimosa leucophloea, Roxb. White- 

 barked acacia. Vern. Rem, rinj, raunj, rhea,, safed kikar, Hind. ; Heivar, 

 Mar. ; Velvaylam, Tam. ; Telia tuma., Tel. ; Tanaung, Burm. (Fig. 167.) 



A moderate-sized to large thorny deciduous tree, with a somewhat spread- 

 ing crown and a trunk often crooked and gnarled. Bark light yellowish grey 

 to nearly white, smooth, exfoliating in irregular scales, light red inside ; bark of 

 older trees rough and nearly black. Heartwood comparatively small, reddish 

 brown streaked with darker and lighter colour, strong and hard. The wood, 

 which is not of great value, is used for posts and beams, carts, wheels, agricul- 

 tural implements and turning, also for fuel. 



Distribution and habitat. This tree is found on the plains of the 

 Punjab and United Provinces, particularly in the drier parts, in the Siwalik 

 hills between the Jumna and the Ravi, Rajputana, central, western, and 

 southern India, and Burma, chiefly in the dry zone. It is characteristic of 

 dry regions, occurring chiefly in open scrub or thorn forests. In the Indian 

 Peninsula it is often very common on trap and on black cotton soil, though it 

 is also found on other geological formations. In the Deccan, the south Mahratta 

 country, and the Central Provinces its associates vary from place to place, 

 but include some or all of the following species : Acacia Catechu, Zizyphus 

 Jujuba, Z. Xylopynis, Prosopis spicigera, Chloroxylon Sivietenia, Soymida 

 fehrifuga, Diospyros Melanoxylon, Aegle Marmelos, Butea frondosa, Anogeissus 

 latifolia. Cassia Fistula, Azadirachta indica, and other species, while in southern 

 > India in addition to most of these it is commonly associated with Acacia 

 Latronum, A. eburnea, Albizzia ainara, Canthiurn parviflorum, and Dolichandrone 

 crispa. 



In the dry zone of Burma it is one of the most characteristic trees, forming 

 somewhat open forests, often on poor shallow soil, in association with Acacia 

 Catechu, Terminalia Oliveri, Tectona Hamiltoniana, Zizyphus Jujuba, Limonia 

 acidissima, and other dry zone species. 



In its natural habitat the absolute maximum shade temperature varies 

 from 105 to 120 F., the absolute minimum from 30 to 55 F., and the normal 

 rainfall from 18 to 60 in. 



Leaf-shedding, flowering, and fruiting. The tree is leafless towards 

 the end of the cold season and in the earlier part of the hot season, the new 

 leaves appearing about April. The yellowish white flowers, in small globose 



1 Ind. Forester, xxi (1895), p. 2.55. 



2 Preliminary Working .Scheme for the Guntur Babul Workmg Circle, Kistna District, 

 1893. 



