Capparis decidua
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| Capparis decidua | ||||||||||||||||||
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Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
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| Capparis decidua (Forssk.) Edgew. |
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Capparis aphylla |
Capparis decidua is commonly known as karir, kair, kirir, karril, etc (Hindi: करीर or कैर). It is a small much branched tree or shrub of the Thar desert and other arid regions in southern Asia with a mass of slender, leafless branches, the small caducous leaves being found only on young shoots. It rarely exceeds a height of 5 meters (15 feet).
The new flush of leaves appears in November-January. Red conspicuous flowers appear in March to April and August-September and ripe by May and October. The pink fleshy berries are readily eaten by birds. It coppices well and produces root suckers freely. It is extremely drought-resistant and tolerates some frost.
This is a useful plant in its marginal habitat. Its spicy fruits are used for preparing vegetables, curry and fine pickles and can attract helpful insectivores; the plant also is used in folk medicine and herbalism. Capparis decidua can be used in landscape gardening, afforestation and reforestation in semidesert and desert areas; it provides assistance against soil erosion[1].
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Kaul (1963), Ghosh (1977)
[edit] References
- Kaul, R.N. (1963): Need for afforestation in the arid zones of India. LA-YAARAN 13.
- Ghosh, R.C. (1977): Handbook on afforestation techniques. Dehra Dun.
- Gupta, R.K. & Prakasah, Ishwar (1975): Environmental analysis of the Thar Desert. Dehra Dun.
