''Hardwickia'' is a monotypic genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the subfamily

Detarioideae The subfamily Detarioideae is one of the subdivisions of the plant family Fabaceae (legumes). This subfamily includes many tropical trees, some of which are used for timber or have ecological importance. The subfamily consists of 84 genera, mos ...

of the legumes. The only species is the Anjan, ''Hardwickia binata'', a tree which is native to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and which grows to height of 25-30 meters. This plant genus was named after

Thomas Hardwicke Major-General Thomas Hardwicke (1756 – 3 March 1835) was an English soldier and naturalist who was in India from 1777 to 1823. He collected numerous specimens of natural history and had them painted by Indian artists. From these paintings ma ...

William Roxburgh William Roxburgh FRSE FRCPE FLS (3/29 June 1751 – 18 February 1815) was a Scottish surgeon and botanist who worked extensively in India, describing species and working on economic botany. He is known as the founding father of Indian botany. ...

Description

''Hardwickia binata'' is a moderate-sized to large tree with drooping branches. The bark of the tree is greyish-brown in colour, rough with deep cracks and it darkens with age. The compound leaves have only two leaflets which are joined at the base. The tiny, white/greenish-yellow coloured flowers are inconspicuous and are easily overlooked. The fruits are short, flat pods about 6 cm long with a single seed attached at the end. The timber obtained from the tree is the hardest and heaviest (among timbers from the trees found in India), is durable and termite resistant. The leaves are shed in April and the new leaves emerge in early May. The flowering season is during August–September, the fruits appear after the flowering season and continue to remain till May.

Distribution and habitat

It is a characteristic tree of the dry deciduous forests and can grow on shallow, gravelly soils. In India, it is found in the western Himalayas up to an elevation of 1500 m and dry open forests of Central and South India. In southern India, it is particularly found in Kadapa, Nellore and Ceded districts and in the valleys of Cauvery and Bhavani rivers

Uses

The bark of the tree is used for making ropes. The timber obtained from ''Hardwickia binata'' is used for making agricultural equipment like cart wheels,

oil mill An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

pestle Mortar and pestle is a set of two simple tools used from the Stone Age to the present day to prepare ingredients or substances by crushing and grinding them into a fine paste or powder in the kitchen, laboratory, and pharmacy. The ''mortar'' () ...

s and ploughs. The leaves, succulent stems and twigs serve as fodder for

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

. Bark is found to have a good

adsorption Adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions or molecules from a gas, liquid or dissolved solid to a surface. This process creates a film of the ''adsorbate'' on the surface of the ''adsorbent''. This process differs from absorption, in which ...

capacity for mercury and a modification of the bark is found to be useful for removal of most of the mercury from water under certain conditions. Oleo-resin extracted from the heart wood is used in manufacture of varnishes Resin exuding from the heartwood is used for dressing the sores of elephants. The

balsam Balsam is the resinous exudate (or sap) which forms on certain kinds of trees and shrubs. Balsam (from Latin balsamum "gum of the balsam tree", ultimately from Semitic, Aramaic ''busma'', Arabic ''balsam'' and Hebrew ''basam'', "spice", "perfume ...

, combined with cubebs and sandal, is used for treating sexually transmitted diseases like leucorrhoea, chronic cystitis, gonorrhoea. The

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on n ...

(not the oleo-resin) derived from the tree is used as a

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics i ...

Cultural and religious significance

Ropes made of ''Hardwickia'' and coconut were used to capture elephants in ancient times, according to the encyclopedic work

Manasollasa The ' also known as ''Abhilashitartha Chintamani'', is an early 12th-century Sanskrit text composed by the Kalyani Chalukya king Someshvara III, who ruled in present-day Karnataka . It is an encyclopedic work covering topics such as polity, gove ...

or Abhilashitarthachintamani.This encyclopedia has been ascribed to the Western Chalukya King, Someshvara III, who ruled in the twelfth century AD. Sangam poets have mentioned and described ''Hardwickia'' as yaa. According to

Sangam Literature The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...

the elephants are fond of the bark and sweet smelling oil of ''Hardwickia''. Hardwickia (Anajan in Sanskrit, Aacha in Tamil/Malayalam) is also mentioned in Sundara Kaandam of Valmiki Ramyana/Kamba Ramayana as one of the trees in Asokavanam where Sitadevi was kept in captivity under a Simpsupa (amherstia nobilis) Tree by the demon king Ravana.

Taxonomy

The mopane tree of Africa, also monotypic in its genus, is believed to be its nearest relative, and Breteler et al. (1997) proposed that genus ''Colophospermum'' be sunk under the genus ''Hardwickia''. Smith et al. (1998) however argued for retention of the name ''Colophospermum'', and Léonard (1999) considered the presented evidence unconvincing.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q2890161, from2=Q13115295 Detarioideae Monotypic Fabaceae genera