95 



. Ord. LEGUMINOS^, Mimosea:. 

 Tribe Acaciece. 



Genus Acacia, Willd. 



95. Acacia Catechu,* Willd., Sp. Plant., iv, p. 1079 (1805). 

 Khair, Klier (India). 



Syn. Mimosa Cateclm, Linn.f. M. Sandra and M. catechuoides, Roxb. 

 Acacia Chandra, Willd. A. Sandra, Spreng. A. Sandra, Beddome. 

 A. catechuoides, Bentli. 



Figures. Woodville, t. 157 (poor); Steph. & Ch., t. 76; Nees, t. 337; 

 Berg & Sch., t. 6 e; Roxburgh, PL Coromandel, ii, t.- 175, and 

 (-4. Sundra) ii, t. 225 ; Beddome, Fl. Sylvatica, t. 50 (A. Sandra). 



Description. A moderate-sized tree, not reaching more than 

 30 to 40 feet high and often smaller, with a short, somewhat 

 crooked trunk, and numerous irregular straggling branches; 

 bark brown or dark grey, rough, red and fibrous within; young 

 branches smooth or pubescent, with a pair of sharp, hooked, brown 

 prickles, just below the position of the stipules of each leaf. 

 Leaves numerous, alternate, stalked ; petiole with a prominent 

 gland on the upper surface about the middle, and often armed 

 with a few prickles, bipmnate, 5 8 inches long ; pinnaB in 

 10 20 pairs, 1 2 inches long, narrow; leaflets opposite, 20 30 

 pairs in each pinna, sessile, overlapping, linear, blunt, i \ inch 

 long, glabrous or pubescent, entire. Inflorescence much as in 

 A. Senegal, but the spikes often in pairs from the axils and 

 the flowers a little larger, and pale yellow. Calyx glabrous or 

 downy ; corolla-segments rather broader ; stamens about twice 

 as long as corolla, the filaments not combined into a tube at the 

 base ; a small disk surrounds the stalk of the ovary ; otherwise 

 all as in A. Senegal. Pod 2 5 inches long by about f inch 

 broad, acute, containing 3 10 seeds, brown and shining, much 

 flattened, smooth, coriaceous, with faint transverse anastomosing 

 veins. Seeds as in the last species. 



* Catechu and Kdt are Indian names for the extract, Kutch. 



