Lophopetalum wightianum Arn.

 
  • Family : CELASTRACEAE
    (Staff-Tree Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : MALKANGANI FAMILY (मालकांगनी फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System IV) : Celastraceae
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Lophopetalum wightianum Arn.
  • Common name : Spindle Tree
  • Vernacular name :
    • Banale, Bel palle, Boralu palle (Kannada)
    • Vembala, Venkadavam, Venkkotta (Malayalam)
    • Venkittai (Tamil)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Tropical evergreen forests and sacred groves
  • Comments / notes : Rare
  • Key identification features : Bark smooth, greyish-brown, forms huge buttresses.
  • Flower, Fruit : November-July
  • Collection Nos : Hohenacker (Metz) 324 (K) A, KFP 4960, KFP 7079
  • Distribution :
    • Karnataka : Chikkamagaluru district, Dakshina Kannada district, Hassan district, Kodagu (Coorg) district, Mysuru district, Shivamogga district, Udupi district, Uttara Kannada district, Belagavi district
    • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
    • Tamil Nadu : Coimbatore district, Dindigul district, Dharmapuri district, Kancheepuram (Changalpattu-CGP) district, Karur district, Krishnagiri district, Madurai district, Namakkal district, Pudukkottai district, Sivaganga district, Salem district, Tiruchirapalli district, Tiruvannamalai district, Villipuram district, Vellore district
    • Sikkim : Sikkim
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Arunachal Pradesh
    • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
    • Assam : Assam
    • Nagaland : Nagaland
    • Mizoram : Mizoram
    • Manipur : Manipur
    • Tripura : Tripura
  • Native : Bangladesh, Bhutan, Borneo, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Indian Subcontinent to W. Malesia
  • Conservation Status : Least Concern (LC)
  • Literature :
    • Saldanha & Nicolson, 1976 - Flora of Hassan district, Karnataka
    • Saldanha, C.J. (1996). Flora of Karnataka vol. 2. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co, New Delhi
    • Balakrishna Gowda & A.N. Sringesh 2004 – Sringeri (checklist unpublished)
    • Keshava Murthy & Yoganarasimhan, 1990 - Flora of Coorg district, Karnataka state
    • Gopalakrishna Bhat, 2003 – Flora of Udupi District
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
    • K.Ravikumar, A.C.Tangavelou, & Navendu Page. (2021). Seed plants of Karnataka, India: A concise dictionary. FRLHT-TDU, National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), Chennai.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : https://indiatrees-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Lophopetalum wightianum
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Trees and Vegetation Types. Lophopetalum wightianum. Downloaded on 4 October 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

GBIF Distribution

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