Bark
Grey-brown; thorny stems with spines
Gmelina philippensis
Syn. Gmelina hystrix
IUCN Red List
Least Concern
(LC)
Local name
- Hanging lobster claw (English)
- Badhara (Hindi)
Shrub type
Evergreen
Deciduous
Family: Lamiaceae
2m
Indicated uses
Medicinal
Edible
Ornamental
Avenue
Other
Flowering & fruiting
Flowering
Fruiting
Key characters
Leaves
Simple, opposite, ovate to elliptic, entire
Flower
Bright yellow, in drooping terminal racemes, hidden by pale yellow-green cone-like bracts tipped purple
Fruit / Seeds
Ovoid to pyriform drupe, yellow when ripe; 1 - 2 seeds
Did you know?
Persistent cone-like bracts (purple to tan) hold bright yellow flowers resembling a parrot’s beak or snapdragon, and the raceme lengthens to about 25 cm as new flowers replace old ones. Kew gives its native range as east Thailand to Vietnam and the Philippines, so it is introduced and naturalised in India.
Distribution
Native to the Philippines; widely cultivated in India (some Indian floras treat Gmelina hystrix as the Indian form)