ACACIA CATECHU. (Nat. ord. Leguniinos;s, Sub-ord. Mimosefe.) 



For Gen. Char.^ee under "Acacia Arabica." 



ACACIA CATECHU. (Willd.) Arboreous, branches armed with stipulary thorns or sometimes unarmed, young shoots 

 petioles and peduncles more or less pubescent, leaves bipinnated, pinnae 10-30 pair, leaflets 30-50 pair puberulous, petiole sometimes 

 armed on the under side with a row of prickles, with one large gland below the lowest pair of pinnae and between the 1-7 extreme pairs, 

 spikes axillary 1-4 shorter than the leaves ; flowers numerous, petals united, stamens distinct, numerous, legume flat thin straight linear 

 glabrous 4-8 seeded. Willd. Sp. iv. p. 1079 ;—W. A. Prod. p. 2J72. A, polyacantha, Willd. I. c. A. Wallichiana, D. C. Prod. ii. 458. 

 Mimosa catechuoides. Roxb. Fl. Ind. ii. p. 562. Mimosa Catechu, Roxb. Fl. Ind. ii. p. 563. 



A middling sized tree, -with a dark brown bark, common all over India, Birmah and Ceylon, ascending to an elevation of 3,000 or 

 rarely 4,000 feet, it is very closely allied to A. Sandra, but difers in being softly puberulous and in its 'more numerous pinna, and leaflets, 

 and it generally has a gland between the 6-7 extreme pair of piivice, whereas in Sandra only the IS ripper pair have a gland between them. 

 Acacia Suma of Roxburgh is also closely allied, ij not identical with this species. It is called in Sindoostanee Khaira'; and Wothala.y in 

 Tamil. The substance of Catechu (formerly called terra japonica) is obtained from the wood of this tree and of the Acacia Sandra, chips of 

 the heartwood are boiled in earthen pots, the clear liquor is strained of; and when of sufficient consistence, it is poured into clay moulds ; the 

 extract is used in dyeing and also medicinally as an astringent, and externally as an ointment for itch, syphilis and burns. Very good catechu 

 is obtained from Birmah, and a considerable quantiUj is made in South Canara, chiefly from A. Sandra, and large quantities are exported from 

 Bengal. One pound of Catechu has been found to be equal to 1 or 8 lbs. oj Oak bark for tanning purposes. The timber is dark colored ; hard 

 and heavy; unseasoned it weighs 85 to 90 lbs. the cubic foot, and nearly 80 lbs. when seasoned, and has a specific gravity of T232 ; it is close 

 grained and durable, works smoothly and Hands a good polish, and though somewhat brittle is much valued where strength is required, it is used 

 for ploughs, pestles, &c, and in house building and the construction of carts; it is not attacked by white ants. The tree flowers in July, and the 



^ seeds ripen in the cold weather. In Ceylon it is called Rat-kihiri, and an infusion of the wood is much esteemed by the natives as a purifier of 

 the blood, and drinking cups are made of it- 





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