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Camachile-Pithecellobium dulce |
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Written by Bonsai King
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Wednesday, 16 December 2009 10:16 |
Local Name:
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Camachile, Kamatsile, Sweet tamarind, Kamonsiles, Madras thorn
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Scientific Name:
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Pithecellobium dulce |
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Family:
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Leguminosae
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Habitat
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The Camachile Native to California through Mexico to Central America to Colombia and Venezuela. Naturalized in India and tropical Africa, especially along coasts. also in tropical regions including the Philippines.
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Propagation
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Camachile reproduces easily by seeds or cuttings.
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Comments
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The height of the camachile tree is commonly 10-15 meters, but ranges from 5 to 18 m. They are broad-spreading with irregular branches. The bark is grey, becoming rough, furrowed, and then peeling. Leaves are bipinnate, and leaflets oblong to 4 cm in length. Thin spines are in pairs at the base of leaves, and range from 2 to 15 mm in length. Leaves are deciduous. However, new leaf growth coincides with the loss of old leaves, giving the tree an evergreen appearance.
The flowers are in small white heads 1 cm in diameter. Each flower has a hairy corolla and calyx surrounding about 50 thin stamens united in a tube at the base. Flowering begins in 3-4 years and is seasonal. The pods are pinkish, 1-1.5 cm wide, about 12 cm long, and become spiral as they mature. Seeds are about 10 per pod, black and shiny, hanging on a reddish thread from the pod. The pod splits along both margins.
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Last Updated on Sunday, 14 March 2010 14:51 |