Bark
Grey or greenish-grey bark covering tough, fibrous branches that are often covered in star-shaped (stellate) hairs when young.
Helicteres isora
Syn. Helicteres grewiifolia
IUCN Red List
Least Concern
(LC)
Local name
- Indian screw tree (English)
- Mrgasrngi (Sanskrit)
- Aantedi (Gujarati)
Shrub type
Evergreen
Deciduous
Family: Malvaceae
5m
Indicated uses
Medicinal
Edible
Ornamental
Avenue
Other
Flowering & fruiting
Flowering
Fruiting
Key characters
Leaves
Rough, alternate, ovate to round leaves (5–15 cm long) with asymmetrical bases, hairy undersides, and irregularly toothed edges.
Flower
Bright red or orange-red flowers that fade to a pale, purplish-blue color with age, featuring asymmetric, reflexed petals.
Fruit / Seeds
Spirally twisted, cylindrical green-to-brown pods (4–6 cm) that resemble screws and house numerous small, wrinkled, geometric seeds.
Did you know?
The plant’s inner bark yields durable and lustrous bast fibres traditionally used in rural India to make strong ropes for cattle ploughs, fencing and woven charpoys.
Distribution
China (S. Yunnan) to Tropical Asia