Pongamia pinnata is a species of tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, native to eastern and tropical Asia, Australia, and the Pacific islands.

[3][4] Pongamia pinnata is a legume tree that grows to about 15–25 m (50–80 ft) in height with a large canopy which spreads equally wide and creates dense shade.

The imparipinnate leaves of the tree alternate and are short-stalked, rounded, or cuneate at the base; ovate or oblong along the length; obtuse-acuminate at the apex; and not toothed on the edges.

The calyx of the flowers is bell-shaped and truncated, while the corolla is a rounded ovate shape with basal auricles and often with a central blotch of green color.

The species is naturally distributed in tropical and temperate Asia, from India to Japan to Thailand to Malesia to north and northeastern Australia to some Pacific islands;[2][4] It has been propagated and distributed further around the world in humid and subtropical environments from sea level to 1,360 m (Chingola, Zambia), although in the Himalayan foothills, it is not found above 600 m.[10] Withstanding temperatures slightly below 0 °C (32 °F) and up to about 50 °C (122 °F) and annual rainfall of 500–2,500 mm (20–98 in), the tree grows wild on sandy and rocky soils, including oolitic limestone, and will grow in most soil types, even with its roots in salt water.

[11] The tree is well suited to intense heat and sunlight, and its dense network of lateral roots and its thick, long taproot make it drought tolerant.

[citation needed] P. pinnata is now broadly distributed across India, Asia, Africa, northern Australia, and the Pacific and Caribbean Islands and it has been cultivated and transported since the nineteenth century or earlier.

[19] P. pinnata as a biofuel is commercially valuable to the rural populations of places such as India and Bangladesh, where the plant grows abundantly, because it can support the socioeconomic development of these areas.

[20][21] Several unelectrified villages have used pongamia oil, simple processing techniques, and diesel generators to create their own grid systems to run water pumps and electric lighting.

[23][24] As adaptive uses are increasing, the tree is being planted in former citrus growing regions that have declined in Florida and California because of disease and climate change conditions.