Chandigarh Forest Flora
A Comprehensive Database of Ligneous Plants of Chandigarh (India)
Designed & Developed by Bioinformatics Centre, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun
| Family: Papilionaceae | Genus: Pongamia | Species:
Pongamia
pinnata (Linn.) Pierre
|
Habit |
Leaf |
Flower |
Fruit |
Bark |
|
|
| Synonym | Pongamia glabra Vent., Dalbergia arborea Willd., Galedupa indica Lam. | Flower Color | White |
| Common Name | Indian Beech Tree, Pongame Oil Tree, Karanj | Flower Type | Raceme |
| English / Trade Name | Pongam Tree, Hongay Oil Tree | Flowering Period | Jan-March |
| Vernacular /Local Name | Karanj | Fruiting Period | April-June |
| Altitude | Upto 1000m | Fruit Type | Pod |
| Habit | Tree | Fruit Details | A pod, obliquely oblong, woody, compress, curved at apex. Seed 1, reniform |
| Habitat | Mostly at river banks and ravines | Bark Type | Smooth |
| Distribution | Indo-Malesia | Bark Details | Bark 10-12 mm thick, surface grey, smooth, speckled with brown; blaze-yellow |
| Distribution in chandigarh | Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary, Chandigarh Botanical Garden and Nature Park, Manimajara and Daria, Sector 18, Sector 19 | Origin | Native |
| Leaf Type | Compound | ||
| Leaf Arrangement | Alternate (leaves born singly along stem) | ||
| Leaf Shape | Obovate | ||
| Description of Species | Evergreen trees, to18 m high, bark 10-12 mm thick, surface grey, smooth, speckled with brown; blaze-yellow; branchlets lenticellate. Leaves imparipinnate, alternate; stipules lateral, small, oblong, cauducous; rachis 10-15 cm long, slender, pulvinate, pubescent; leaflets 5-7, opposite, estipellate; petiolule 6-10 mm; slender, pubescent; leaflet 4.5-12 × 2-7 cm, elliptic-acuminate, elliptic-lanceolate, ovate or ovate-oblong, apex acuminate, margin entire, glabrous, chartaceous; lateral nerves 5-8 pairs, pinnate, ascending, slender, faint; intercostae reticulate, obscure. Flowers bisexual, purplish-white, 15-18 mm long, in lax axillary racemes, axis pubescent; bracts small, cauducous; calyx tube campanulate; minutely 5 toothed, apex truncate; corolla exserted; petals 5, clawed; standard suborbicular with curved folds above the claw; wings obliquely oblong, slightly adnate above the claws to the obtuse keel petals which are joined near the tip; stamens 10, monadelphous, the vexillary stamen free below and above; anthers uniform; ovary subsessile, inferior, 1-celled, ovules 2; style in curved, beardless; stigma capitate. Fruit a pod, 4-5 × 2-2.5 cm, obliquely oblong, flat, thick, pointed at both ends, indehiscent, slightly falcate; seed one, reniform. | Leaf Details | Leaves imparipinnate, alternate; stipules lateral, small, oblong, cauducous; rachis 10-15 cm long, slender, pulvinate, pubescent; leaflets 5-7, opposite, estipellate; petiolule 6-10 mm; slender, pubescent; leaflet 4.5-12 × 2-7 cm, elliptic-acuminate, elliptic-lanceolate, ovate or ovate-oblong, apex acuminate, margin entire, glabrous, chartaceous; lateral nerves 5-8 pairs, pinnate, ascending, slender, faint; intercostae reticulate, obscure. |
