• Family : STERCULIACEAE
  (Sterculia Or Cocoa Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : COCOA FAMILY
• Family (as per The APG System III) : MALVACEAE
• Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Firmiana simplex (L.) W.Wight
• Common name : Kateera-gum, Katira, Kulu, Sterculia gum, Gum Karaya
• Vernacular name : Kulu, Gulu, Gular (Hindi); Shen-thanukku, Kavalam, Senthalamaram, Vellaipputali (Tamil); Erra puniki chettu, Tabsu, Konda tamara (Telugu); Genduli, Girungila, Kudalo, Kavili (Oria); Pandruk, Kad, Kadai, Kandol, Karanunji, Keonji, Telnec (Marathi); Kempu dale (Kannada); Annanvazhukki, Kithondi, Paravakka, Theethondi, Thondi (Malayalam)
• Habit : Tree
• Habitat : Moist and dry deciduous forests, also scrub forests.
• Comments / notes : On hills of deciduous forests up to 1200m. One of the earliest deciduous trees to flower. An exudate known as Gum karaya from the trunk is valuable and used in pharmaceutical, textile, cosmetic and food industries
• Key identification features : Bark pale whitish smooth peeling off in flakes. Flowers foetid. Follicles reddish yellow, woody, densely pubescent with stiff stinging bristles
• Flower, Fruit : October-May
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : Throughout Andhra Pradesh
  • Telangana : Throughout Telangana
  • Karnataka : Ballari district, Kolar district, Chamarajanagar district
  • Kerala : Kozhikode district, Malappuram district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district, Idukki district, Thiruvananthapuram district
  • Maharashtra : All districts of Maharashtra
  • Odisha : Angul district, Balasore district, Bargarh district, Bolangir district, Boudh district, Cuttack district, Deogarh district, Dhenkanal district, Gajapati district, Ganjam district, Kalhandi district, Kandhamal district, Kendrapara district, Keonjhar district, Khurda district, Koraput district, Malkangiri district, Mayurbhanj district, Puri district, Rayagada district, Sambalpur district, Sundergarh district
  • Tamil Nadu : All districts of Tamil Nadu
• Native : India
• World Distribution : India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Malaysia
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1; J.L.Ellis, 1987- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 1; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1; R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District; H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa; N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka; Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983; Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI; Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1.
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Raja K Swamy, Deepak Kumar, Arun Singh R. and K. Gopalakrishna Bhat (2019). Flora of Peninsular India. http://peninsula.ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Sterculia urens. Downloaded on 3 June 2024.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)