Waltheria indica L.

 
  • 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 IPNI) : 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, Y.S.R. Kadapa district, East Godavari district, Guntur district, Krishna district, Kurnool district, S.P.S. Nellore district, Prakasam district, Srikakulam district, Visakhapatnam district, Vizianagaram district, West Godavari district
    • Telangana : Nalgonda district, Khammam district, Mahbubnagar district
    • Karnataka : Ballari district, Chamarajanagara district, Kolar district
    • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
    • Maharashtra : All districts of Maharashtra
    • Odisha : Angul district, Balasore district, Bargarh district, Balangir district, Boudh district, Cuttack district, Deogarh district, Dhenkanal district, Gajapati district, Ganjam district, Kalahandi district, Kandhamal district, Kendrapara district, Kendujhar district, Khordha district, Koraput district, Malkangiri district, Mayurbhanj district, Puri district, Rayagada district,Sambalpur district, Sundargarh district
    • Tamil Nadu : Coimbatore district, Dindigul district, Dharmapuri district, Kancheepuram (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
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • 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.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Waltheria indica
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2025). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Waltheria indica. Downloaded on 3 January 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

Creative Commons License
India Flora Online by Herbarium JCB is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.