chikakai PRODUCT NAME
Acacia sinuata (Lour.) Merr. = Acacia concinna (DC.) = Acacia rugata (Buch-Ham ex. Benth) SCIENTIFIC NAME
| Common Name: | chikakai, piquant sappan, sappan, soap pod, soap nut |
| Local Name: | India: Seyakai kodi (Kurumba, Irula), Seeyakkaai (Tamil), Sigekai (Telugu), Ban ritha (Hindi) |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Other Species of Same Genera: | |
| Product Description: | An extensive scrambler with hooked prickles. Flower: in terminal or axillary racemes or panicles, pale yellow. Fruit: a reddish pod; seeds 4-6, black, ovoid or compressed. Bark: creamish. Leaves: small prickles on leaf. |
| NTFP Classification: | Medicinal, aromatics and cosmetics |
DISTRIBUTION
| Countries Found: | India |
| Description: | Foothills to 1400 m. Moist evergreen forests. Common in tree fall gaps, close to rivers. Numbers decreasing in Nilgiris. Indian subcontinent. |
USES AND PARTS USED
| Parts Used: | bark, bast fruits leaves, leaflets pod |
| Uses: | India: Elephants eats the bark. India: Fruit used for Kurumba funeral rites and puberty-related ceremonies. India: deer browse on leaves. India: Powdered pod used as a soap/detergent, sold commercially to traders. The Adivasis believe that the plant produces a male pod (which look stout, fetches a lower price) and a female pod (longer and thinner). |
| Origin: | |
| Management Practices: | |
| Market Information: | Powdered pod is sold commercially to traders. |
| Partners: | Keystone |
PARTNERS INVOLVED IN ACTIVITIES CONCERNING THIS NTFP
| Duration: | |
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| External Links: | http://www.hear.org/pier/species/acacia_concinna.htm http://www.himalayahealthcare.com/herbfinder/h_acacias.htm |
