What is English name of Karuvelam Maram?

The Karuvelam tree, or prosopis juliflora as its known biologically, is a species native to West Africa and was brought to Tamil Nadu in 1960s as fuelwood. Slowly, these seeds started drifting into dams and rivers, causing problems.

What is Seemai Karuvelam?

The Seemai Karuvelam tree, or prosopis juliflora as it’s known biologically, is a species native to West Africa and was introduced in India by the Britishers to meet the increasing need for charcoal. They grow well in dry regions where rainfall was less than 200 mm.

What is the use of Karuvelam tree?

The hardy, drought-tolerant Seemai Karuvelam was introduced in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu in the 1960s to be used as firewood. But now it has become a threat to the environment as it draws a lot of water.

What is Julie Flora?

Prosopis juliflora (Spanish: bayahonda blanca, Cuji [Venezuela], Aippia [Wayuunaiki] and long-thorn kiawe in Hawaii) is a shrub or small tree in the family Fabaceae, a kind of mesquite. It is native to Mexico, South America and the Caribbean.

Where did Seemai Karuvelam get his seeds from?

In fact, The Hindu archives have an advertisement placed by a nursery in T. Nagar selling the tree’s seeds. While various species of Prosopis were introduced at the time, P. juliflora has spread over large areas and has naturalised in most of the arid and semi-arid regions of India.

Where did the Karuvelam tree come from in Tamil Nadu?

The Karuvelam tree is a species native to West Africa and was brought to Tamil Nadu in 1960s as fuel wood Image: “A scene of Prosopis juliflora” by Thamizhpparithi Maari – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki

What kind of damage does Karuvelam tree do?

The plant is thorny in nature which causes damage to livestock and humans. Moreover the cattle feeding on karuvelam tree suffers from infertility and offspring born with physical deformities. One of the serious ecological damage is that ‘karuvelam’ trees does not allow any other plant or shrub to grow near it.