• Family : STERCULIACEAE
  (Sterculia Or Cocoa Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : COCOA FAMILY
• Family (as per The APG System III) : MALVACEAE
• Synonym(s) : Waltheria americana L.
• Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Waltheria indica L.
• Common name : Boater Bush
• Vernacular name : Ottatti gidda (Kannada); Sengalipundu (Tamil)
• Habit : Undershrub
• Comments / notes : Wide range of habitats from deciduous to scrub forests, along roadsides to fallow fields. Sometimes a weedy colonizer in disturbed lands.
• Key identification features : Erect pubescent sub-shrub; flowers yellow in axillary clusters
• Flower, Fruit : Throughout the year
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : Anantapur district, Chittoor district, Kadapa district, East Godavari district, Guntur district, Krishna district, Kurnool district, Nellore district, Prakasam district, Srikakulam district, Vishakapatnam district, Vizianagaram district, West Godavari district
  • Telangana : Nalgonda district, Khammam district, Mehboobnagar district
  • Karnataka : Ballari district, Chamarajanagar district, Kolar district
  • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
  • 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 : Coimbatore district, Dindigul district, Dharmapuri district, Kanchipuram (Changalpattu-CGP) district, Karur district, Krishnagiri district, Madurai district, Namakkal district, Pudukkottai district, Sivaganga district, Salem district, Tiruchirapalli district, Tiruvannamalai district, Villipuram district, Vellore district
• Native : Pantropical
• World Distribution : Pantropical
• 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; R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District; 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=Waltheria indica. Downloaded on 21 November 2024.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

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Field Image(s)