Pongamia pinnata is a fast-growing, medium-sized, evergreen or briefly deciduous, glabrous shrub or tree with a broad crown of spreading or drooping branches. It usually grows 15 - 25 metres tall, with a straight or crooked bole 50 - 80 cm or more in diameter.A multipurpose tree, it is particularly valued for its oil and also supplies dyestuff, wood, fuel, insect repellent, medicines and various other commodities. The tree is planted in the humid tropical and subtropical lowlands around the world as a pioneer and soil reclamation plant. This species is one of the few nitrogen-fixing trees to produce seeds containing oil, and these are collected in vast amounts in India for commercial processing of industrial uses