Botanical Name - Parkinsonia aculeata

----- Parkinsonia, Linn.; F.B.I., II-260. P. aculeata, Linn.; F.B.I., (Syn. Delonx regia); II-260. Brandi's Ind. Trees, 249. Gamble's Ind. Timbers, 270. Vern. Vilayati Kikar, Hind. Sima-tuma, Tel. Adanti, Mar.

----- A small graceful tree with showy yellow flowers and narrow constricted pods, introduced from the W. Indies and South America and completely domesticated in most parts of India. Leaves bi-pinnate, common petiole short, thick, ending in a stout, sharp spine, often with a pair of stipulary thorns at its base; rachis flattened. Pinnae 2-4 pairs, flat coriaceous, 6-12 in. long; Leaflets pinnate, sometimes none. Flowers yellow, in lax axillary racemes; Calyx segments nearly equal, distinct almost to the base; Petals equal, with long claws. Stamens 10, free. Pod linear, 3-6 in. long contracted between the albuminous seeds.

----- Very common in Hyderabad and all over the Deccan. It spreads rapidly and is often found as an escape from cultivation, growing almost wild in waste places. It is very commonly used for hedges in Karimnagar. It grows 12-15 ft. high and valuable for hedges, growing even in black cotton soil and springing up with less care than any other tree. It also furnishes abundant cuttings for fuel. A useful fibre is obtained from the bark, said to be valuable also as a paper material. It grows easily from seed.