• Family : MIMOSACEAE
  (Pea Or Bean Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : BABOOL FAMILY (बबूल फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System IV) : Leguminosae
• Subfamily : Mimosoideae
• Synonym(s) : Albizia stipulata (DC.) Boivin
• Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Albizia chinensis (Osbeck) Merr.
• Common name : Sau tree
• Vernacular name :
  • Mottavaka, Ponthamvaka, Pottavaka, Vaaka (Malayalam)
  • Pila vagei (Malayalam)
• Habit : Tree
• Habitat : Tropical evergreen forests, deciduous forests, also in the plains
• Comments / notes : In damper forests, usually near streams
• Key identification features : Large deiciduous tree
• Flower, Fruit : March-December
• Collector(s) Name : Cecil J. Saldanha
• Collection Date : 10-04-1970, 12-04-1969
• Collection Nos : CJS 16775, CJS 13268
• Collection Locality : Bisle, Hassan district; Panorama point, Shiradi ghat, Hassan district
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : Visakhapatnam district, East Godavari district, West Godavari district
  • Karnataka : Davanagere district, Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) district, Hassan district, Tumakuru district, Dakshina Kannada district, Belagavi district, Kodagu (Coorg) district, Kolar district, Mysuru district, Shivamogga district, Udupi district, Uttara Kannada district
  • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
  • Maharashtra : Pune district
  • Odisha : Rayagada district, Ganjam district, Mayurbhanj district, Angul district, Kalahandi district
  • Tamil Nadu : Dindigul district, Salem district, Kancheepuram (Changalpattu-CGP) district, The Nilgiri district, Tirunelveli district
  • Jharkhand :
  • Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
  • Sikkim : Sikkim
  • West Bengal : Darjeeling district, Jalpaiguri, Midnapur
  • Himachal Pradesh : Chamba district, Kangra district, Kinnaur district
  • Arunachal Pradesh : Arunachal Pradesh
  • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
  • Assam : Assam
  • Nagaland : Nagaland
  • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Jammu and Kashmir : Jammu and Kashmir
  • Mizoram : Mizoram
  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands : Middle Andaman, South Andaman
  • Manipur : Manipur
  • Tripura : Tripura
• Native : Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Borneo, Cambodia, China, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sumatera, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam
• Exotic/Native : Native
• World Distribution : Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Borneo, Cambodia, China, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sumatera, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Literature :
  • Pullaiah et al., 2001 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 2
  • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
  • R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
  • H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa
  • Sudhakar Reddy, C et al., 2009. Tree Wealth of Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India
  • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
  • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
  • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1
  • Saldanha & Nicolson, 1976 - Hassan
  • Saldanha, 1984
  • Gowda, 2004 - Sringeri
  • Rao & Razi, 1981 - Mysore
  • Gopalakrishna Bhat, 2003 - Udupi
  • Bhaskar & Kushalappa, 2013- Flora of Tumkur District
  • Manjunath et al., 2003 - Davanagere
  • Gopalakrishna Bhat, 2014 - Flora of South Kanara.
  • Indigenous Plants at Biodiversity Park, Ranchi - Ranchi Afforestation Division, Forest and Environmental Department, Jharkhand
  • H J, Chowdhery, et al. Flora of Himachal Pradesh. Volume 1, Botanical Survey of India, 1984. Pg.: 170
  • K.Ravikumar, A.C.Tangavelou, & Navendu Page. (2021). Seed plants of Karnataka, India: A concise dictionary. FRLHT-TDU, National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), Chennai.
  • P. S. N. Rao, P. M. Padhey, B. K. Sinha, H. S. Debnath, P. Lakshminarasimhan, & L. N. Ray. (1999). Flora of Andaman-Nicobar Islands (Vol. 1). Director, Botanical Survey of India.
• Read more :
  • GBIF Data Online (Access to herbarium specimens)
  • Plants of the World Online
  • World Flora Online
  • Global Plants on JSTOR
• Permalink : https://indiatrees-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Albizia chinensis
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Trees and Vegetation Types. Albizia chinensis. Downloaded on 3 October 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

Habitat

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

GBIF Distribution