Pongarnia pinnata (L) Pierre

Pongarnia pinnata (L) Pierre. Family

Fabaceae

Pongarnia pinnata (L) Pierre. English Name

Indian Beech, Hongay oil tree

Pongarnia pinnata (L) Pierre Local Name

Sukhchain

Pongarnia pinnata (L) Pierre. Description

This plant is a legume tree that grows up to 12 to 25 m in height with a very large canopy that spreads wide. It may be deciduous for short periods. It has a straight or twisted trunk that 40 to 90 cm in diameter. The bark is smooth and vertically fissured, and its colour is with grey, brown. Branches have pale stipulate scars and are smooth. The plant has pinnately compound leaves and they are shiny and soft when young, and glossy when matures. Flowers are usually white, purple, and pink present in small clusters. The flowers have bell-shaped calyx. The mature fruits or pods are woody and brown in colour. The size of pods varies.

Pongarnia pinnata (L) Pierre. Distribution

This plant is indigenous to the Pakistan, India, and south-east Asia. The tree grows along the coasts and riverbanks in Myanmar. It has been successfully cultivated in humid tropical regions and also in the parts of China, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA.

Pongarnia pinnata (L) Pierre. Uses

It has many traditional uses. The compost of the leave and flowers can be used in gardens for plants needful of high nutrients. The bark can be used to make ropes. The fruits and seeds are used in many traditional medicines.  The oil from the plant can use for soap making, lubrication, and illumination purposes and also production of biodiesel after different chemical processes.

(Al Muqarrabun et al., 2013)