Description
Ⅰndian blackwood or Anjan is a hardwood timber tree native to low rainfall areas of interior India, mainly the dry, open woodlands and savanna forests of the Deccan and Central highlands, which cover vast areas of the subcontinent.
It is slow-growing to heights of up to 36 m (118 ft) in its natural habitat, though it is more typically 15 to 20 m (50 to 65 ft) tall with a long, straight trunk.
The branches on young trees are short and held close to the trunk, creating a columnar crown. As the tree ages, the branches gradually extend outward, causing the crown to widen somewhat. The bark is thick, grey-brown on young trees, on older trees becoming dark brown and rough with deep, vertical cracks.
The leaves are divided into two green, kidney-shaped leaflets, each up to 6 cm (2.4 in) long, joined at the base. They fall steadily throughout the dry season until the tree is leafless. The new leaves emerge around one to two months later, at the start of the rainy season.
The flowers are yellow-green, very small or insignificant in loose clusters at the tips of the branches. They come into bloom at the start of the rainy season in its native range, coinciding with new leaf growth. They are followed by flat, winged seedpods with a single seed designed for wind dispersal. When mature, they become brown and fall from the tree to float away in the breeze, sometimes over long distances.
Use
The wood is hard, heavy and durable, with a density of around 730 kilograms per cubic meter (46 lbs per cubic ft) and with high natural resistance to decay and wood-boring insects. This puts it in the durable hardwood class, suitable for indoor and outdoor construction. The heartwood is reddish-brown with attractive black streaking.
Suitable logs are sawn into beams used in heavy construction, including house frames, bridge and pier parts and railway sleepers. Planks are used in flooring and decking. Small diameter roundwood and branchwood is cut for firewood, charcoal and for shaping into tool handles.
Climate
Grows naturally in sub-humid tropical lowland to mid-elevation climates, generally areas with annual lows of 20 to 25°C, annual highs of 29 to 35°C, annual rainfall of 500 to 1200 mm and a dry season of 6 to 8 months.
Growing
New plants are usually started from seed. When mature, they can be harvested and kept dry at room temperature for up to two years. Afterwards, they start losing their viability. Soaking them in water before sowing hastens their germination.
It performs best on free-draining loam and sand soils of an acid to neutral nature, generally with a pH of 5.5 to 7.5 and on sites with full sun exposure. It is intolerant of slow-draining or waterlogged soils
Problem features
There does not appear to be any records of its escape and naturalisation anywhere in the world. However, it produces numerous winged seedpods, which are easily dispersed by wind over long distances, making it a potentially invasive species if the right conditions exist. It is also known to sprout suckers from its roots.
Where it grows
References
Books
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Allen, O. N. & Allen, E. K. 1981, The Leguminosae : a source book of characteristics, uses, and nodulation, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wisconsin
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Dastur, J. F. 1964, Useful plants of India and Pakistan : a popular handbook of trees and plants of industrial, economic, and commercial utility, 2nd ed., D. B. Taraporevala Sons, Bombay
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Hocking, D. 1993, Trees for drylands, International Science Publisher, New York
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Krishen, P. 2006, Trees of Delhi : a field guide, Dorling Kindersley Publishers, Delhi
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Luna, R. K 1996, Plantation trees, International Book Distributors, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
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Nair, P. K. R. 1993, An introduction to agroforestry, International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht
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Reyes, G. 1992, Wood densities of tropical tree species, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station, New Orleans, Louisiana
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Scheffer, T. C & Morrell, J. J. 1998, Natural durability of wood : a worldwide checklist of species, Forest Research Laboratory, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon