Prosopis juliflora - Velvet Mesquite

❏ Binomial Name : Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC.

❏ Synonym : Acacia juliflora,Mimosa juliflora,Prosopis bracteolata

❏ Family : Leguminosae

❏ Common Name : Velvet mesquite

❏ Tamil Name : Vaelikaruvalem

❏ Hindi Name : Vilaiti Keekar

❏ IUCN Status : Not Evaluated

Prosopis juliflora Botanical Description

Trees, to 10 m high, bark deeply wavily fissured, yellowish-brown; branchlets zig-zag, glabrous; spines straight, ca. 5 mm long, solitary or paired, divergent, upto 5 cm long on older branches. Leaves bi-pinnate, alternate; stipular thorn to 1.5 cm long; petiole 1-5 cm long, slender; pinnae 2-4, even pinnate, 3-11 cm long, slender, flattened, ending in a short bristle, a circular gland near the base of lower pinnae; leaflets 22-36, opposite; petiolule to 3mm; lamina 6-23 x 1.5-5 mm, oblong or linear-oblong, base obtuse, apex obtuse, emarginate or mucronulate, margin entire, glabrous, chartaceous; midrib slightly excentric; lateral nerves prominent beneath. Flowers bisexual, 1.5 mm across, greenish-yellow, subsessile, in axillary spikes, to 12 cm long; bracteoles minute; calyx 1.5 mm long, campanulate, glabrous, 5-toothed; petals 5, ligulate, sub coherent at base; stamens 10, free, slightly exserted; anthers with an apical gland; ovary superior, stipitate, pubescent, ovules many; style filiform; stigma minute. Fruit a pod, 20-30 x 1.5 cm, pale yellow, glossy, smooth, flattened, with straight parallel sutures or irregularly sub moniliform; seeds ovoid, brown, embedded in pulpy mesocarp. Fl. &Fr.: October-February.

Prosopis juliflora Medicinal uses

❀ The leaves are used in the treatment of oral infections, painful and frequent urination

❀ A tea made from Prosopis juliflora is thought to be good for treating digestive disturbances and skin lesions

❀ The leaves have been shown to have antibacterial, antibiotic, antispasmodic and astringent

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