Acacia Arabica, Desi Babul - 0.5 kg Seeds

Acacia nilotica (often listed under the old synonym Acacia arabica), the desi babul, is a medium-sized thorny tree of India's dry plains, ravines and roadsides. It carries dark fissured bark, fine bipinnate foliage and golden ball-shaped flowers, and is one of the most widely planted indigenous trees of the arid and semi-arid tracts.

It is a true multipurpose species: the hard heartwood is prized for agricultural implements, cart wheels and fuelwood, the pods and foliage are valuable fodder, and the bark, gum (gum arabic) and pods are used in tanning and traditional medicine. Being a hardy nitrogen-fixer, it is planted for fuelwood lots, shelterbelts and the reclamation of degraded, saline soils.

• Family: Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
• Native region: Indian subcontinent and Africa
• Mature height: 10-15 m
• Growth rate: moderate, very drought hardy

The seeds have a tough, impermeable coat, so give a hot-water treatment (pour near-boiling water over them, then leave to soak as it cools for 12-24 hours) or scarify before sowing. Sow 1-2 cm deep in poly bags filled with sandy loam; expect germination in about 7-14 days. Raise seedlings in the nursery and transplant with the monsoon rains.