Khair / Black Cutch
Acacia catechu
Also known as Cutch Tree, White Kutch
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka & more
- Flowering
- March-December
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Acacia catechu
- Genus
- Acacia
- Family
- Mimosaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Dry deciduous forests
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Native to
- South Asia
- Distribution
- India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutone, Thailand, China, Taiwan. Introduced in Mauritius
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- March-December
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Typical of the Mimosaceae family — a field-mark hint, not measured for this exact species.
Flower & fruit characters
Typical of the Mimosaceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.
Local Names
- Hindi
- खैर khair,सेनेगालिया senegaliya
- Nepali
- खयर
- Bengali
- খয়ের
- Tamil
- மாரோடம், செங்கருங்காலி
- Telugu
- కాచు, నల్లచండ్ర
- Kannada
- ಅಕೇಶಿಯ ಕ್ಯಾಟೆಚು
- Malayalam
- കരിങ്ങാലി, Acacia catechu, ഖദിര
- Marathi
- खैर
Khair in India
This thorny tree, known as खैर (Hindi), மாரோடம் (Tamil), కాచు (Telugu), ಅಕೇಶಿಯ ಕ್ಯಾಟೆಚು (Kannada), കരിങ്ങാലി (Malayalam), खैर (Marathi), is the source of kattha (catechu), a familiar paan ingredient. Acacia catechu is found across Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, typically in dry deciduous forest.
Uses
Its heartwood is boiled down to produce kattha (catechu extract), used in paan and for tanning and dyeing, and the tree's hard, durable wood has been used for tool handles and construction.
How to Identify Khair
A thorny deciduous tree with feathery, bipinnate leaves and small paired spines at the leaf base. Small pale yellow flower spikes appear in the rainy season, followed by flat, thin, papery pods.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Black Cutch called in different Indian languages?
- खैर (Hindi); மாரோடம் (Tamil); కాచు (Telugu); ಅಕೇಶಿಯ ಕ್ಯಾಟೆಚು (Kannada); കരിങ്ങാലി (Malayalam); खैर (Marathi); খয়ের (Bengali).
- What is kattha?
- A reddish-brown extract boiled down from Acacia catechu heartwood, traditionally chewed as part of paan alongside betel leaf and areca nut.
- Is khair the same as regular acacia gum?
- No — khair is valued for its heartwood extract (kattha) and tannins, distinct from gum arabic, which comes from different Acacia species valued for their sap-derived gum.
Mimosaceae
Mimosa/Acacia family
Khair belongs to the Mimosaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Mimosaceae family →Snap it. Know it.
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Common plant problems
All plant problem & care guides →More in Mimosaceae
View all Mimosaceae →Sources: GBIF — Acacia catechu (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Acacia catechu (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)