Spatholobus purpureus Benth. ex Baker

 
  • Family : FABACEAE
    (Pea Or Bean Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : PALASH FAMILY (पलाश फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Fabaceae
  • Subfamily : Faboideae
  • Synonym(s) : Butea purpurea (Benth ex Baker) Blatt.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Spatholobus purpureus Prain
  • Vernacular name :
    • Vallichamatha (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Liana
  • Habitat : Tropical evergreen forests, Tropical semi-evergreen forests
  • Comments / notes : Not common.
  • Key identification features : Large climber; pods papery winged
  • Flower, Fruit : December-May
  • Collection Nos : R.S.Raghavan 69406 (BSI), Talbot 1630 (BSI)
  • Distribution :
    • Karnataka : Dakshina Kannada district, Shivamogga district, Uttara Kannada district
    • Kerala : Kannur district, Wayanad district, Kozhikode district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district, Idukki district, Pathanamthitta district, Kollam district, Thiruvananthapuram district
    • Tamil Nadu : Coimbatore district
  • Endemism : Western Ghats
  • World Distribution : India
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Flora of Karnataka, Saldanha, 1984
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Spatholobus purpureus
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Spatholobus purpureus. Downloaded on 30 January 2026.

Botanical Description

Field Image(s)

Habitat

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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