White Cutch Tree
Acacia polyacantha
Also known as White Catechu
- Habit
- Tree
- Flowering
- February-October
How to identify White Cutch Tree
Identify White Cutch Tree by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a tree habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Many small hooked prickles along the trunk.
- Confirm leaf type: Bipinnately compound.
- Confirm leaf shape: Feathery bipinnate leaflets.
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: February-October.
- Confirm it sits within the Mimosaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is White Cutch Tree.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Acacia polyacantha
- Genus
- Acacia
- Family
- Mimosaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Dry deciduous forests
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka, Tropical Africa, Madagascar, introduced in Caribbean
- Flowering & fruiting
- February-October
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf type
- Bipinnately compoundrecordedThe leaf is divided twice — each 'leaflet' is itself a row of smaller leaflets, giving a fine, fern-like look.“Leaves very finely divided bipinnate, with up to 60 pairs of primary pinnae, each with as many as 66 pairs of leaflets.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf shape
- Feathery bipinnate leafletsrecorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for White Cutch Tree itself; the rest are typical of the Mimosaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded“Acacia polyacantha), also known as white thorn, is a flowering tree which can grow up to 25 m tall.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Head
- Fruit
- Legume
Characters marked “recorded” are for White Cutch Tree itself; the rest are typical of the Mimosaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Tamil
- சிலையுஞ்சில்
- Malayalam
- വെൺകരിങ്ങാലി
About White Cutch Tree
White Cutch tree (Acacia polyacantha) is a tree in the Mimosaceae family. It grows in dry deciduous forests. Flowering and fruiting run from February to October.
Mimosaceae
Mimosa/Acacia family
White Cutch Tree belongs to the Mimosaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Mimosaceae familySnap it. Know it.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
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