Scientific Name:- Sissoo (Dalbergia, sissoo) seeds Shape:- Leaf shaped (seed is inside the leaf) Size:- 8-10cm Color:- Golden brown Usage:- Germination (not for oil extraction) Age: -Fresh(less than a year, good for germination) Origin:- India Dalbergia sissoo (or Indian Rosewood), is a deciduous rosewood tree, also known as sisu, sheesham, tahli/Tali, or Irugudujava. It is native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southern Iran. In Persian, it is called Jag. It is the state tree of Punjab state (India) and the provincial tree of Punjab province (Pakistan). It is primarily found growing along river banks below 900 metres (3,000 ft) elevation, but can range naturally up to 1,300 m (4,300 ft). The temperature in its native range averages 10-40 DegC (50-104 DegF), but varies from just below freezing to nearly 50 DegC (122 DegF). It can withstand average annual rainfall up to 2,000 millimetres (79 in) and droughts of 3-4 months. Soils range from pure sand and gravel to rich alluvium of river banks; shisham can grow in slightly saline soils. Seedlings are intolerant of shade.
Timber
Shisham is best known internationally as a premier timber species of the rosewood genus, but is also used as fuel wood and for shade and shelter. With its multiple products and tolerance of light frosts and long dry seasons, this species deserves greater consideration for tree farming, reforestation and agro forestry applications. After teak, it is the most important cultivated timber tree of the Bihar, which is the largest producer of shisham timber in India and Pakistan. In the Bihar, the tree is planted on roadsides, along canals and as a shade tree for tea plantations. It is also commonly planted in southern Indian cities like Bangalore as a street tree.
Shisham is among the finest cabinet and veneer timbers. It is the wood from which 'Kartaals', the Rajasthani percussion instrument, are often made. In addition to musical instruments, it is used for plywood, agricultural tools, carvings, boats, skis, flooring, etc.
The heartwood is golden to dark brown; the sapwood, white to pale brownish white. The heartwood is extremely durable (the specific gravity is 0.7 - 0.8) and is very resistant to dry-wood termites; but the sapwood is readily attacked by fungi and borers. Dalbergia sissoo is known to contain the neoflavonoid dalbergichromene in its stem-bark and heartwood
Fuel Wood
The calorific value of the sapwood and heartwood of 'excellent' fuel wood is reported to be 4,908 kcal/kg and 5,181 kcal/kg respectively. As a fuel wood it is grown on a 10 to 15-year rotation. The tree has excellent coppicing ability, although a loss of vigor after two or three rotations has been reported. Shisham wood makes excellent charcoal for heating and cooking.
