| Type | Indigenous |
|---|---|
| Family | Fabaceae |
| Synonym | Cytisus pinnatus L. |
| Synonym_2 | Pongamia glabra Vent. |
| Local Name | Ungu |
| Trade Name | Indian beech |
| Common Name | Ungu |
| Habit | Medium sized tree |
| Tree Seed | Fruit type: Pod. Seed weight: 150-470 pods/kg (Kindt et al.,1997); 810-1410 seeds/kg (Chacko et al., 2002). Vernacular name: Pongu, Ungu (Malayalam), Pungam, Punga (Tamil), Honge, Uggemara (Kannada), Papar kanji, Karanji (Hindi), Poonga oil plant, Indian Beech (English) (Chacko et al., 2002). Flowering season: April to June, March to April (Bourdillon, 1908). Fruiting season: May to June (Chacko et al.,2002). June to July (Bourdillon, 1908). Germination type: Hypogeal (Chacko et al., 2002). Germination percentage: 35 to 70 (Carlowitz, 1991); fresh seeds give up to 89% germination (Chacko et al.,2002). Method of propagation: Seeds and root suckers. |
| Botanical Features | Evergreen trees, bark thick, surface grey, smooth, speckled with brown; blaze-yellow; branchlets lenticellate. Leaves imparipinnate, alternate; stipules lateral, small, oblong, cauducous; rachis 10-15 cm long, slender, pulvinate, pubescent; leaflets 5-7, opposite, estipellate; petiolule 6-10 mm; slender, pubescent; leaflet 4.5-12 x 2-7 cm, elliptic-acuminate, elliptic-lanceolate, ovate or ovate-oblong, apex acuminate, margin entire, glabrous, flowers purplish-white, 15-18 mm long, in lax axillary racemes, fruit a pod, 4-5 x 2-2.5 cm, obliquely oblong, flat, thick, pointed at both ends, indehiscent, seed reniform. |
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