| Type | Exotic |
|---|---|
| Family | Leguminosae |
| Common Name | Black wattle |
| Origin | Australia |
| Tree Seed | Fruit type: Pod. Seed weight: 45,000 seeds/kg (Kindt et al., 1997; Chacko et al., 2002); 85,000 seeds/kg (Carlowitz, 1991; Chacko et al., 2002). Vernacular name: Chavukku, Seekai (Tamil) (Chacko et al., 2002). Flowering season: January to February. Fruiting season: November (Khullar et al., 1991). Germination type: Epigeal (Chacko et al.,2002). Germination percentage: 50 to 83 (Carlowitz, 1991; Chacko et al., 2002). Mechanical scarification, hot water treatments, scarification with sandpaper, and photoperiod treatment for 12 hrs give 98%, 82-86%, 58.75-80% and 72.36% germination respectively (Martins Corder et al., 19 Method of propagation: By seeds and root suckers (CSIR, 1948). |
| Botanical Features | Trees, young parts silky; branchlets semiterete. Leaves bipinnate, alternate, stipulate; rachis 4-12 cm long, slender, pulvinate, pubescent, a gland at the base of the rachis on the upper side; pinnae 8-21 pairs, subopposite, 1.5-6 cm long, slender, a gland between each pairs on the upper side; leaflets 36-90, subsessile, subopposite; lamina 1.5-4 x 0.5-1 mm, linear or linear-oblong, base obtuse, subacute or obliquely truncate, apex obtuse or subacute, margin entire, puberulent, membranous, veins obscure. Flowers bisexual, white or creamy, sessile, heads arranged in axillary or terminal panicles or racemes, fruit a pod, 3-10 x 0.5-1 cm, flat, narrow, straight to slightly curved, usually constricted between the seeds, tomentose, blackish-brown. |