Anogeissus Pendula
Family : Combretaceae
Common Name : Kardhai or Dhoy
English Name : Axle wood tree
Hindi Name : Dhau, Kardhai
Telugu Name : sirimani
Bengali Name : Dhaoya
Tree Characteristics :
It is a small tree, Bark is smooth grey, sliver white often with shallow fissures when old. Leaves elliptic, acute and narrow at the base, silky on both surface. Fruit small, one seeded with two wings, and a short beak at the apex. Anogeissus pendula is a very important tree species of the fragile ecosystems. It is a drought hardy plant that yields timber, fodder and other products. It yields Gum and Tannin. A. pendula has ecological significance for the Aravallis and other hilly areas of the country.
Nursery Practice:
The seeds are sown densely on raised beds, the soil being mixed with large quantity of coarse sand. The bed is well-shaded and 45 cms above the ground. Germination is fairly quick. The seedlings are extremely liable to insect damage. The development of the seedlings is very slow. No. of Seeds per Kg is 1,08,000 to 1,35,000 and the germination percentage is 0.05 to 4.62. Germination period is 2 to 15 days.
Economic Uses :
The wood has a lot of mechanical strength and very tough. It is regarded as the 3rd toughest timber in the world. The timber is used for furniture, agricultural implements, tool handles of all kinds, poles, rafters, for carts, spokes of wheels, toys, shuttles and bobbins, tool handles etc.
At present, it is extensively used as fuel wood, calorific value of sap-wood being 4837 kcal and hardwood 4739 kcal/kg.
The leaves are used as fodder.
Bark yields a gum called gatti or Indian gum.
