Botanical Name - Dichrostachys cinerea

----- D. cinerea, W. and A. ; F.B.I. II-288. Brandi's Ind. Trees, 261. Gamble's Ind. Timbers, 288. Vern. Veltur, Yeltur, Tel. Warfa-taro, Mar.

----- A thorny shrub or small tree. Bark grey or light-brown, fibrous, very thin, deeply fissured vertically, peeling off in thin flakes. Spines axillary, straight, strong and sharp, often prolonged into leaf-bearing branches. Leaves bipinnate ; 1-1 1/2 in. long ; pinnae 6-10 pairs, opposite, small stipitate glands at the base of each pair. Leaflets 12-15 pairs, 1/10 in. long, ciliate. Flowers minute, dimorphous, in dense cylindrical spikes ; the upper flowers of each spike bi-sexual, yellow , fertile ; the lower sterile, purple, sometimes white, with long filiform staminodes. Calyx minute, campanulate 5-toothed. Corolla 1/24 in. oblong, with 5-strap-shaped petals. Stamens of the perfect flowers slightly exserted. Staminodes red-purple, 1/2 in. long. Pods linear, 2-3 in. long, irregularly twisted, indehiscent or opening irregularly, 6-10 seeded.

----- A very common shrub in all parts of Hyderabad ; very conspicious with its twisted gnarled stem, tasselled flowers, upper half yellow, lower reddish-purple, and twisted pods. Heart-wood red, streaked with black extremely hard, tough and strong. It makes excellent fuel but is too small for any other purpose.