Statue of Unity – Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat Rain Forest Ektanagar

Pterygota alata

Syn. Sterculia alata

IUCN Red List Not Evaluated (NE)

Local name

  • Buddha Coconut (English)
  • Kodaittondi (Tamil)
  • Kolugida (Kannada)

Tree type

Evergreen Deciduous
Family: Malvaceae
35m

Indicated uses

Medicinal Edible Ornamental Avenue Other

Flowering & fruiting

Flowering Fruiting

Key characters

Pterygota alata bark

Bark

Smooth, greyish-brown to blackish, thornless, lacks latex, and covers strong, highly durable wood.

Pterygota alata leaves

Leaves

Carried on 3–10 cm long stalks, crowded towards the ends of branches. Blade broadly ovate-heart-shaped, 10–25 cm long, 7–15 cm broad, wavy, smooth, pointed or tapering.

Pterygota alata flower

Flower

Arranged in few-flowered racemes, 1–1.5 cm across, on 2–3 mm stalks; petals absent, sepals five, nearly free, fleshy, densely ferruginous-pubescent outside and purple with red streaks within.

Pterygota alata fruit / seeds

Fruit / Seeds

Fruit is large, woody, 7–12 cm in diameter, obliquely round. Seeds are about 40 per follicle, oblong, compressed, in 2 rows, winged.

Pterygota alata

Did you know?

The tree’s common name comes from its large, woody fruit capsules, which reach about 7–12 cm across. Their round shape and rough brown surface remarkably resemble coconuts hanging high in the canopy.

Distribution

World map showing distribution

E. Himalaya to China (Yunnan) and Sumatera, S. Hainan, Cuba, Florida, Pakistan