Common Name: Cork Bush, Silver bush. Tamil Name: Vellai porasu
Cork bush is a small tree with a roundish crown and grows to a height of about 4 meters. Often seen in dry deciduous forest patches areas in Anaikatti forest range in Coimbatore district of Tamilnadu. The entire plant has silvery appearance. The bark of the tree is light brown in color, corky with vertical fissures. The young twigs are lenticulate. The leaves are arranged in an alternate manner and are compound. About 8 pairs of leaflets are seen and an additional leaflet at the apex. The leaflets are oval in shape, with a cuneate base and an acute apex. The upper side of the leaf is light green, the lower side is silvery green. The leaflets and young shoots are slightly pubescent with whitish hairs. The fruit is in the form of a pod which measurers around 8 cm in length. The pod is flat in shape gray in color. The seeds are brown in color and measure around 4 mm each. The leaf stalk measure around 1.1 cm; the entire leaf along the rachis measure around 6.5 cm in length. The inflorescence is in the from of an axially raceme. The flower stalk measure around 1.2 cm in length; the flower is pea shaped and purple in color. The calyx is five-teethed and measure around 4 mm. Cork bush is seen in India, South Africa, Madagascar and Srilanka. An attractive small tree with ornamental potential.
