Senegalia catechu

Senegalia catechu
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Caesalpinioideae
Clade:	Mimosoid clade
Genus:	Senegalia
Species:	S. catechu
Binomial name
Senegalia catechu (L.f.) P.J.H.Hurter & Mabb.
Varieties
Senegalia catechu var. catechu (L.f.) P.J.H.Hurter & Mabb. Senegalia catechu var. sundra (L.f.) Willd.[2]
Range of Senegalia catechu
Synonyms[3]
Acacia catechu (L.) Willd., Oliv. Acacia catechu (L.f.) Willd. var. catechuoides (Roxb.)Prain Acacia catechuoides (Roxb.) Benth. Acacia sundra (Roxb.) Bedd. Acacia wallichiana DC. Mimosa catechu L.f. Mimosa catechuoides Roxb.

Senegalia catechu, previously known as Acacia catechu, is a deciduous, thorny tree which grows up to 15 m (50 ft) in height.^[4] The plant is called kachu in Malay; the Malay name was Latinized to "catechu" in Linnaean taxonomy, as the species from which the extracts cutch and catechu are derived.^[5] Other common names for it include kher,^[6] catechu, cachou, cutchtree, black cutch, and black catechu.

Senegalia catechu is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, including the Indian subcontinent, Myanmar, Cambodia and China (Yunnan).^[1]

Through derivatives of the flavanols in its extracts, the species has lent its name to the important catechins, catechols and catecholamines of chemistry and biology.