Common Name: Shisham, Indian rosewood. Tamil Name: Totakatti
Shisham is a medium sized tree commonly seen in North India, not a very common tree in Coimbatore district. Shisham tree has typically a grey colored bark with vertical fissures. The young twigs are covered with white hairs; the leaves are glabrous, bi-pinnate and imparipinnate. The leaf and leaflets are arranged in an alternate manner; the leaf stalk measure around 3-4 mm. The leaflet at the tip is the largest, and measure around 4.2 cm; the paired leaflets are smaller and measure about 3 cm each; 3-5 pairs of leaflets are seen. The leaf is oval-orbicular in shape, the base is cuneate and tip acuminate. The inflorescence is in the form of an axillary panicle. The flowers are sessile; the calyx is bell shaped and green in color; the flower measures around 1.3 cm. The pea shaped flowers have cream colored petals. The fruit is in the form of a glabrous oblong pod which measure around 9 cm. The pod is initially green color and when fully mature become brown. The pods contain around 1-4 seeds. Shisham wood is used to make furniture; it is also used as fuel wood and the foliage is used as fodder for cattle. It is a fast growing tree and well suited for agroforestry.
