| Binomial |
Sterculia foetida L.
|
| Family |
Malvaceae
|
| Tamil Name |
Peenari (பீநாறி)
|
| Tree |
Semi deciduous, fast growing, spreading tree, crown umbrella-shaped with horizontal stout trunk with wide reaching branches arranged in whorls.
|
| Bark |
Grey, smooth, spotted with brown, flaky.
|
| Flowers |
Apetalous, unisexual, sepals crimson-brown, with an unpleasant odour, in drooping panicles. |
| Flowering Period |
March to April
|
| Fruits |
Follicles boat-shaped, scarlet when ripe.
|
| Pollinators |
Flies
|
| Country of origin |
Tropical Africa and North Australia
|
| About the tree |
The bark is diaphoretic and diuretic. It is used as a laxative and an insect repellent. It is used in the treatment of dropsy and rheumatism by taking a decoction of its wood with boiled seeds. Oil from seeds is extracted on a local scale to be used in medicine to treat itches and other skin diseases. The wood is used for making inferior constructions, rough packing cases and cheap plywood. In our campus, the red bug Iphita limbata is often found associated with these trees.
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