450 XXIII. LEGUMINOSAE 



it is common, but not so plentiful as it once was, having been heavily worked 

 at one time for catechu boiling. 



In Chota Nagpur it is found not only in dry mixed deciduous forest but 

 also frequently in association with sal. It occurs in the dry forests of Central 

 India and Rajputana, often growing on mere sheet rock in the hilly tracts. 

 It is common in Merwara associated with Anogeissus pendula, Albizzia odora- 

 tissima, Boswellia serrata, Acacia leucopJdoea, and other species. 



In Madras it is common in dry mixed forests, often on dry stony soil, 

 associated with Acacia leucophloea, Albizzia amara, A. odoratissima, Chloroxylon 

 Swietenia, Prosopis spicigera, Cassia Fistula, Anogeissus latifolia, Zizyphus 

 Jujuba, Z. Xylopyrus, Santalum album, Hardwickia binata, and others. 



Burma. Acacia Catechu is one of the commonest trees in the dry zone 

 of Upper Burma, where it occurs partly in the form of pure crops in the sand}^ 

 beds of streams and partly on dry ground away from rivers and streams. 

 The riverain cutch attains fairly large dimensions, but the trees on the higher 

 ground are often stunted, forming scrub forests in association with Acacia 

 leucophloea, Terminalia Oliveri, T. tomeniosa, Tectona Hamiltonia7ia, Capparis 

 burmanica, C. flavicans, Cassia renigera, Bauhinia racemosa, Zizyphus Jujuba, 

 Azadirachta indica, Diospyros burmanica, Limonia acidissima, Flacourtia cata- 

 phracta, Gardenia turgida, Phyllanthus Emblica, Pentacme suavis, and occa- 

 sionally Dipterocarpus tuberculatus. In this dry region, where the rainfall 

 varies from about 23 to 40 in. and the soil is often poor and shallow, the trees 

 are for the most part of small size and the crop is open. Cutch trees were 

 formerly more plentiful than they are now, but have been extensively cut out 

 for cutch boiling, not only the stems but also the stumps and main roots 

 having been utilized for this purpose. 



In Burma the tree extends well outside the dry zone proper, occurring 

 both in Upper and in Lower Burma and in the Shan States in mixed deciduous 

 forests with or without teak, in association with Terminalia tomentosa, T. Che- 

 bula, Xylio. dolabriformis, Homalium tomentosum, Pterocarpus macrocarpus, 

 Dalbergia cuUrata, Pentacme suavis, Shorea obtusa, and many other species 

 characteristic of the drier types of the- upper mixed forest. Bamboos are 

 also common, the chief being Dendrocalamus strictus, Bambusa Tulda, and 

 Cephalostachywn pergracile. In the Pegu Yoma the tree extends southward 

 to the northern part of the Tharrawaddy district, where on the well-drained 

 sandstones and shales of this range it attains large dimensions, the minimum 

 feUing diameter under the Taungnyo working plan being fixed at 1 ft. 6 in. 

 In the Thayetmyo forest division (East Yoma and other reserves) the exploit- 

 able girth is fixed at 4|^ ft. In Burma it does not extend into regions with 

 a rainfall higher than 65 in. 



Leaf-shedding, elowering, and fruiting. The tree is leafless for a time 

 during the hot season. In northern India the leaves are shed about Februarj', 

 the new leaves appearing towards the end of April or during May. When 

 leafless the khair forests have a grey and dreary appearance, in strong contrast 

 to the fresh green of the sissoo crops, which by that time have come into new 

 leaf. By June, however, the khair forests have acquired their new delicate 

 green feathery foliage, and are a beautiful sight. The whitish flowering spikes, 

 2-3-5 in. long, which are axillary on the young shoots, appear with the new 



