Sterculia villosa Roxb. ex DC.

 
  • Family : STERCULIACEAE
    (Sterculia Or Cocoa Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : COCOA FAMILY
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Malvaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Clompanus armata (Mast.) Kuntze; Clompanus villosa (Roxb. ex Sm.) Kuntze; Sterculia armata Mast.; Sterculia lantsangensis Hu
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Sterculia villosa Roxb.
  • Common name : Hairy Sterculia, Elephant rope tree
  • Vernacular name :
    • Udhal (Hindi)
    • Bilidali (Kannada)
    • Muratthan, Vakkai, Anai-nar (Tamil)
    • Kummari puliki (Telugu)
    • Kodalo (Oria)
    • Kudal, Kuthada, Sardol (Marathi)
    • Vakka, Vakkanarumaram (Malayalam)
    • Oudal (Assamese)
    • Ubak (Garo)
    • Dieng star(Khasi)
    • Hei-rit (Manipuri)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Deciduous forests
  • Comments / notes : Leafless between December to May. The gum is used as substitute for Gum Karaya. The fibre is coarse but strong, made in to ropes and breast bands of elephant to drag timber.
  • Key identification features : A moderate-sized or large tree with a smooth, glossy, grey bark, with numerous corky warts and with a wavy appearance, cut reddish-brown.; Stem with large cordiform scars, grey; Leaves crowded at the end of branches; Infloerscence paniculate; Panicles as long as leaves, erect, many flowered.
  • Flower, Fruit : January-June
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Vishakapatnam district, Kurnool district, Nellore district, Srikakulam district
    • Karnataka : BR Hills (Chamarajanagar district)
    • Kerala : Wayanad district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district, Idukki district, Thiruvananthapuram district
    • Maharashtra : Amravati district, Mumbai-City district, Mumbai Suburban district, Pune district, Raigad district, Ratnagiri district, Sindhudurg district
    • Odisha : Mayurbhanj district
    • Tamil Nadu : Coimbatore district, The Nilgiri district, Salem district, Villipuram district, Cuddalore district
    • Madhya Pradesh : Madhya Pradesh
    • Uttarakhand : Nainital district
    • Sikkim : Sikkim
    • West Bengal : West Bengal
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Arunachal Pradesh
    • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
    • Assam : Assam
    • Nagaland : Nagaland
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Mizoram : Mizoram
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands : Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Manipur : Manipur
    • Tripura : Tripura
  • Native : Andaman Islands, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Andaman Islands, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
    • 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
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
    • Neginhal, S.G. 2011. Forest trees of the Western Ghats includes Eastern Ghats Deccan Plateau
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1.
    • Nair, N. G (1977).Flora of Bashahr Himalayas. International Bioscience Publishers: 47
    • Parkinson, C.E. 1923. A Forest Flora of the Andaman Islands, Govt. of India, Shimla: 101
    • N.P. Singh & S. Karthikeyan 2000. Flora of Maharashtra vol 1.
    • M.R. Almeida (1996). Flora of Maharashtra vol.1.pp.144-145.
  • Read more :
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Sterculia villosa. Downloaded on 4 October 2024.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)

India Distribution

World Distribution

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