Cassia auriculata Illustration Credit: Asad

Small shrubby tree, 2-4 m tall. Leaf 5-10 cm long; stipules foliaceous, rotund to reniform, with long apiculae on either side, persistent. Leaflets 4-12 pairs, 1.5-2.5 cm long, c. 5-12 mm broad with an erect linear gland between each pair. Flowers in terminal and axillary corymbose racemes. Pedicel 1.2-2.5 cm long. Sepals 9-12 mm long, 2 outer much smaller than the other three. Petals 1.2-2.5 cm long, bright yellow, veined with orange. Stamens 10, 3 upper reduced to staminodes. Pod 7.5-12.5 cm long, c. 1.2-1.5 cm broad, flat. pilose. stipe 5 mm long.

Fl, Per.: January-July.

Distribution: Wild in Madhya Pradesh and Western Peninsula, India, Burma and Ceylon: introduced in Sind and Karachi.

Bark of the plant is used for tanning leather. particularly in South India.The bark is astringent and tonic; the leaves and fruits are anthelmintic. The root is used in the treatment of skin diseases.