Vilayti Kikar / Mexican Palo Verde
Parkinsonia aculeata
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu & more
- Flowering
- July-December
How to identify Vilayti Kikar
Identify Vilayti Kikar 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: Green photosynthetic bark, drooping fine leaves.
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Alternate.
- Confirm leaf type: Bipinnately compound (doubly divided, fern-like).
- Confirm flower colour: Yellow.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: July-December.
- In India, compare location records such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and nearby regions.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Parkinsonia aculeata
- Genus
- Parkinsonia
- Family
- Caesalpiniaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Arable lands and wastelands
- Habitat type
- Wasteland
- Native to
- Tropical America
- Distribution
- Naturalized in tropics
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- July-December
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- AlternaterecordedOne leaf per node, arranged in a spiral or zigzag up the stem.“The leaves are alternate and pennate (15 to 20 cm long).” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf type
- Bipinnately compound (doubly divided, fern-like)recorded
- Leaf surface
- GlabrousrecordedSmooth, hairless.“The leaves and stems are hairless.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Vilayti Kikar itself; the rest are typical of the Caesalpiniaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Yellowrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Raceme
- Fruit
- Legume
Characters marked “recorded” are for Vilayti Kikar itself; the rest are typical of the Caesalpiniaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- विलायती कीकर Vilayti kikar, राम बबूल Ram babul
- Tamil
- Sinia tumana
- Telugu
- Seemathumma
- Kannada
- ಪರಂಗಿಜಾಲಿ Parangi jali (paraŋgi jāli)
About Vilayti Kikar
A member of the Caesalpiniaceae family, Mexican Palo Verde (Parkinsonia aculeata) is a tree. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and 10 other states. It grows in arable lands and wastelands. Flowering and fruiting run from July to December.
Uses
In practice it is long used in traditional medicine and harvested for fodder. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice.
Caesalpiniaceae
Senna family
Vilayti Kikar belongs to the Caesalpiniaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Caesalpiniaceae 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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