Thai Botanic
Pongamia pinnata, Indian beech, grown root-balled for export in Thailand

Pongamia pinnata

Indian beech, karanja · Fabaceae · Semi-evergreen canopy tree
Also traded as Millettia pinnata.

Glossy foliage on a dense rounded crown, with pale lilac pea flowers in spring. Nitrogen-fixing, salt-hardy and notably tolerant of poor and coastal ground — increasingly specified across the Gulf as a dependable street and shade tree.

Specification

Mature height10–20 m
Crown spread8–15 m — dense and rounded
Calliper range supplied15–40 cm, measured 1 m above soil level [to confirm]
Root-ball diameter80–150 cm [to confirm]
Growth rateModerate to fast
HabitSemi-evergreen; brief leaf change in the dry season
FloweringPale lilac to white pea flowers, lightly scented
Minimum order quantity[to confirm]

Landscape use

Street and avenue planting, car parks, coastal roads, shelterbelts and land reclamation. The dense crown gives good shade at a manageable scale, and it holds up in urban and seafront conditions.

Because it fixes nitrogen it establishes well on poor and depleted ground, which makes it useful as a first planting on new or reclaimed sites.

Site tolerance

DroughtHigh once established
SalinityHigh — coastal and saline soils
WindHigh
SoilVery wide range including poor, sandy, saline and periodically wet soils
HeatVery high
USDA zone10–12

Export notes

Supplied root-balled and wrapped, crown-reduced for loading. Robust in transit. Phytosanitary certification accompanies every shipment. See export and compliance.


For available sizes and current stock in this species, get in touch.