Chandigarh Forest Flora
A Comprehensive Database of Ligneous Plants of Chandigarh (India)
Designed & Developed by Bioinformatics Centre, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun
| Family: Sterculaceae | Genus: Sterculia | Species:
Sterculia
urens Roxb.
|
Habit |
Leaf |
Flower |
Fruit |
Bark |
|
|
| Synonym | Cavallium urens (Roxb.) Schott & Endl., Clompanus urens (Roxb.) Kuntze, Kavalama urens (Roxb.) Rafin. | Flower Color | Greenish |
| Common Name | Gum Karaya, Kulu, Kateera-gum, Katira, Sterculia gum, Indian-tragacanth | Flower Type | Panicle |
| English / Trade Name | Gum Karaya, Sterculia gum | Flowering Period | Jan-March |
| Vernacular /Local Name | Gular | Fruiting Period | April-June |
| Altitude | 400-800m | Fruit Type | Aggregate |
| Habit | Tree | Fruit Details | Fruit an aggregate of 4-6 follicles, red, densely pubescent, mixed with stinging hairs; seeds 3-6, brown or black, oblong. |
| Habitat | Moist and Dry deciduous forest | Bark Type | Exfoliating |
| Distribution | Indo-Malesia | Bark Details | Bark 10-12 mm, white or greenish-grey, smooth, exfoliating in large, thin, papery flakes; blaze red; exudation yellowish-white, sticky. |
| Distribution in chandigarh | Chandigarh Botanical Garden and Nature Park | Origin | Native |
| Leaf Type | Simple | ||
| Leaf Arrangement | Alternate (leaves born singly along stem) | ||
| Leaf Shape | Palmate | ||
| Description of Species | Deciduous trees, to 15 m high, bark 10-12 mm, white or greenish-grey, smooth, exfoliating in large, thin, papery flakes; blaze red; exudation yellowish-white, sticky; branches horizontal; branchlets pubescent. Leaves simple, palmately 3-5 lobed, alternate, clustered at the tips of branchlets; stipules free, lateral, cauducous; petiole 8-18 cm long, stout, pubescent; lamina orbicular, base cordate or sagittate, lobe apex acuminate or caudate-acuminate, margin entire, glabrous above, velvety pubescent beneath, coriaceous; 3-5-ribbed from base, palmate, prominent, lateral nerves 5-7 pairs, pinnate, prominent, intercostae subscalariform, faint. Flowers polygamous, greenish-yellow, in axillary panicles, covered with sticky tomentose of glandular, stellate hairs; calyx yellow, campanulate, hairy on both surfaces, lobes 5, a small hairy gland at the base of each lobe; petals absent; male flowers: staminal column short with 10 anthers at its tip; bisexual flowers: carpels usually 5, free, superior, on a short stout gynophore; style short, thick, hairy; stigmas 5; stamens in a ring round the carpel. Fruit an aggregate of 4-6 follicles, red, densely pubescent, mixed with stinging hairs; seeds 3-6, brown or black, oblong. | Leaf Details | Leaves simple, palmately 3-5 lobed, alternate, clustered at the tips of branchlets; stipules free, lateral, cauducous; petiole 8-18 cm long, stout, pubescent; orbicular, base cordate or sagittate, lobe apex acuminate or caudate-acuminate, margin entire, glabrous above, velvety pubescent beneath, coriaceous; 3-5-ribbed from base, palmate, prominent, lateral nerves 5-7 pairs, pinnate, prominent, intercostae subscalariform, faint. |
