Common Name: White bark acacia, Brewers acacia. Tamil Name: Akamanaram, Velvel.
White bark acacia is medium sized tree, native to the Indian sub-continent and grows to around 15 meters in height. It forms a umbrella like crown. The tree is identified by its white-yellowish bark and is historically associated agro-pastoral systems of Tamilnadu. It is a well armed tree with paired stipular spines. The leaves are alternate and bipinnate. The leaf has a prominent gland just below the first pair of pinnae. The leaf has typically around 10-11 pinnae and each pinnae consists of around 20 pairs of small sessile leaflets. The young leafs and branches are rusty and tomentose in appearance. The inflorescence is in the form of a panicle which is rusty and hairy. The flower head appears round and have a greenish-cream color. The fruit is in the form of a pod which can grow to around 15 cm in length. The bark of the tree is used in the fermentation of locally made arrack. It is the larval host plant for African babul blue, Bright babel blue, Dull babel blue , Tailess lineblue, Common lineblue and Common flash butterflies.
