Page 70 - Major Gum Resin-E-Book

Exudate Gums

Sanskrit: Arimedha, Arimedah, Irimedah, Arimeda, Vitkhadira
Tamil: Kadivel, Kasthurivel, Pikkaruvel
Telagu: Nagatumma
Marathi: Gukikar
Assamese: Tarua kadam
Oriya: Kapur
Manipuri: Chigong lei
Habitat and Distribution
The tree is found in dry deciduous forest. It is naturalized throughout India.
Description

It grows as shrub or small trees. Bark is rough and brown or grey in colour. Almost every
part of the plant bears sharp thorns. Stem possesses long, sharp, multiple thorns. It has
numerous branches and zigzag branchlets, with small openings (lenticels) on them. Leaves
are bipinnately compound and alternately arranged. Many leaflets are occurring per pinna
arranged oppositely with no petioles. They are linear-oblong and glabrous. Inflorescence
composed of pedunculate globose glomerules with numerous flowers aggregated in
groups. Flowers are fragrant, golden-yellow in colour without peduncle (sessile). Fruit is
cylindrical pod generally slightly curved (sometimes straight) and dark brown to black in
colour. Seeds are ellipsoidal slightly flattened and colour varies from olive-brown to olive-
green also light brown to dark brown or black.

Flowering: March - June
Fruiting: July - December
Uses of Gum

The gum obtained from bark is used as adhesive, astringent, film forming and viscosity
controlling additive in food, syrups and beverages. The gum can be used as an alternative
to the gum Arabic in preparing sweets and other food items.

Major gum and resin plants of India 61