Description

• Madras Thorn is a large, nearly evergreen tree that grows up to 20 m or more in height, Madras Thorn has a broad crown, up to 30 m across, and a short trunk, up to 1 m thick.
• At the base of each leaf is normally found a pair of short, sharp spines, though some specimens are spineless.
• Leaves are deciduous but foliage is persistent, as the new leaves appear while the old ones are being shed, so that the tree looks like an evergreen.
• Flowers are borne in small spherical glomerulus of about 1 cm in diameter, forming short axillary panicles of 5-30 cm in length.
• Flowers are white greenish slightly fragrant 1.0-1.5 mm in diameter, with a hairy corolla, 50 thin stamina, connate in a tube at their basis, surrounded by the green calyx.

Uses   

• Fruits are edible. The white fleshy aril is edible and sweet and seed can be used for animal feed.
• Boiled leaves can be eaten with salt to help indigestion, but excessive consumption may induce abortion.
• Bark produces gum which is used for tanning and dyeing fish nets. Bark can be grounded into powder and applied on skin to treat scorpion sting.