Page 77 - Major Gum Resin-E-Book

ISRAELI BABOOL

Acacia tortilis

Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Sub-family: Mimosoideae
Genus: Acacia
Species: tortolis
Botanical name: Acacia tortilis (Forssk.) Hayne
Synonym
Mimosa tortilis Forssk.
Common Names
Umbrella thorn, Israeli babool
Vernacular Names
English: karamoja, umbrella thorn
Hindi: Israeli babool, kikar

Habitat and distribution
It is flourishes very well under extreme dry climates with less than 200 mm annual rainfall. It
also withstands extreme temperatures ranging from 45°C to 3°e and sometimes even up to
O°C. Acacia tortilis was introduced in Indian desert in 1958 from Israel to stop advancement
of sand dunes of arid regions and planted in the districts of Barmer, Bikaner, Jaisalmer,Sri-
Ganganagar, Jodhpur, Pali, Seekar, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Nagaur, etc. in western Rajasthan. It
was also planted in arid zones of Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka. It is prominent on sand dunes of arid regions. In western Rajasthan, roadside
plantations are predominantly found.

68 Major gum and resin plants of India