Common name: Jhand झंड (Hindi), Semi (Gujarati), Perumbai (Kannada), Shemi (Marathi), Jambu (Tamil), Jammi chettu (Telugu), Shami (Oriya), Kandi (Sindhi)
Botanical name: Prosopis cineraria Family: Fabaceae (pea family)
Jhand is a small moderate sized evergreen thorny tree, with slender branches
armed with conical thorns and with light bluish-green foliage. Leaves are
double compound. The leaflets are dark green, and have a tiny point. The tree
is evergreen or nearly so. It produces new flush leaves before summer. The
flowers are small in size and yellow or creamy white in colour, appear from
March to May after the new flush of leaves. The pods are formed soon
thereafter and grow rapidly in size attaining full size in about two months
time. Historically jhand has played a significant role in the
rural economy in the northwest arid region of Indian sub-continent. This tree
is a legume and it improves soil fertility. It is an important constituent of
the vegetation system. It is well adapted to the arid conditions and stands
well to the adverse vagaries of climate and browsing by animals. Camels and
goats readily browse it. In areas open to goat browsing, the young plants
assume cauliflower shaped bushy appearance.
| Photographed in Lodhi Garden,
New Delhi |
|
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