BABOOL

                                                      Babool, Dhau - Acacia Nilotica (Mimosa Family)

                                                            Acacia nilotica, Leaves

                                                         Acacia nilotica, Flowers

                                                           Acacia nilotica, Bright Yellow pom pom flowers

                                                           

                                                                Acacia Gum

                                                          Fruit of Babool , Beaded fruit

BABOOL. Acacia nilotica : A 'pioneer' tree of hot, dry low land. It thrives in dry condition but must have sufficient moisture in the sub soil. Naturalized in Delhi- Connaught Place was built in a cleared Babool forest.  One of the most important Indian trees  much planted on field crop boundaries. Babool gum is used in calico - printing and dyeing, in the manufacture of paper matches, inks, paints and confectioneries. A middle sized thorny tree, with nearly black bark and a spreading open, feathery crown. Bright yellow pom pom flowers. in the rainy season are distinctive. Season Leaves : shed in March or early April; renewed fairly Quickly. Flowers : from June into the rains, peaking in August; straggling flowers persist till November. Flowers tiny bright yellow clustered tightly together to form round heads. Like all other acacias, the petals are insignificant. The slender flower stalk arise from  leaf axils and are densely downy.. The flower are fragrant. Fruits : in September, ripening between April and June. Spines  : in pairs, very long, straight and white.

BANGAR

The more or less level Bangar is where you would expect to find Delhi's arable land. There is only a small tract of Bangar to the north of the walled city- the greater part lies to the north -west and the south and takes it all of New Delhi, east of the central ridge. The soil here is light and fertile, the subsoil water sweet, and left to nature  this area would probable support a savannah or  monsoon forest characteristic of say, north eastern of Rajasthan or western UP but it hasn't been left to nature, of course, because the Bangar is now the  a heart of a modern city and lies mostly under macadam (broken stone of even size, bound with tar or bitumen and used in successively compacted layers for surfacing roads and paths.) 

and concrete. However you can still find remnants of its natural flora wherever it has been enclosed and protected within large park. Ber, Jhand, peelu, Kanju, Bistendu, babool and Ronjh are its most characteristic tree.

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