Neltuma juliflora (Spanish: bayahonda blanca, Cuji in Venezuela, Trupillo in Colombia, Aippia in the Wayuunaiki language and long-thorn kiawe in Hawaii), formerly Prosopis juliflora, is a shrub or small tree in the family Fabaceae, a kind of mesquite. It is native to Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. It has become established as an invasive weed in Africa, India, Asia, Australia and elsewhere. It is a contributing factor to continuing transmission of malaria, especially during dry periods when sugar sources from native plants are largely unavailable to mosquitoes.
Description
Growing to a height of up to 12 metres (39 feet), N. juliflora has a trunk diameter of up to 1.2 m (4 ft). Its leaves are deciduous, geminate-pinnate, light green, with 12 to 20 leaflets. Flowers appear shortly after leaf development. The flowers are in 5–10 centimetres (2–4 inches) long green-yellow cylindrical spikes, which occur in clusters of 2 to 5 at the ends of branches. Pods are 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in) long and contain between 10 and 30 seeds per pod. A mature plant can produce hundreds of thousands of seeds. Seeds remain viable for up to 10 years. The tree reproduces solely by way of seeds, not vegetatively. Seeds are spread by cattle and other animals, which consume the seed pods and spread the seeds in their droppings.
Its roots are able to grow to a great depth in search of water similar to Prosopis species.
The tree is said to have been introduced to Sri Lanka in the 19th century, where it is now known as vanni-andara, or katu andara in Sinhala. It is claimed that N. juliflora existed and was recognised even as a holy tree in ancient India, but this is most likely a confusion with the superficially similar Prosopis cineraria. The tree is believed to have existed in the Vanni and Mannar regions for a long time. This species has thorns in pairs at the nodes. The species has variable thorniness, with nearly thornless individuals appearing...
