Sterculia guttata Roxb. ex DC.

 
  • Family : STERCULIACEAE
    (Sterculia Or Cocoa Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : COCOA FAMILY
  • Family (as per The APG System IV) : Malvaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Astrodendrum malabaricum Dennst.; Clompanus malabarica (Dennst.) Kuntze; Sterculia alata Wall.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Sterculia guttata Roxb.
  • Vernacular name :
    • Kavalam (Tamil)
    • Aanathondimaram, Kavalam, Kithondi, Narukorumban, Peenari, Potta-kavalam, Thondi (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Tropical moist deciduous forests, Tropical semi-evergreen forests, also along ghats
  • Comments / notes : Occasional in deciduous forests in full sun and also along shola border up to 1200m.
  • Key identification features : Trees, 15-20 m high with oval crowd; Leaves simple, chartaceous, ovate- elliptic or obovate, rusty tomentose beneath; Flowers in axillary or terminal racemes, pale white or yellowish; Follicles compressed, tomentose, red when ripe.
  • Flower, Fruit : September-August
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Kurnool district, East Godavari district, Y.S.R. Kadapa district, Prakasam district
    • Karnataka : All districts of Karnataka
    • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
    • Maharashtra : Ahmednagar district, Mumbai-City district, Mumbai Suburban district, Kolhapur district, Nashik district, ONE, Raigad district, Ratnagiri district, Satara district, Sindhudurg district, Thane district
    • Tamil Nadu : Alagar Hills (Madurai district), Kolli Hills (Namakkal district), Shevaroy Hills (Salem district), Kalrayan Hills (Salem district), Pachamalai Hills (Tiruchirapalli district), Bodamalai Hills (Salem district), Chitteri Hills (Vellore district), Sirumalai Hills (Dindigul district), Yelagiri Hills (Vellore district), Dharmapuri Hills (Dharmapuri district), Piranmalai Hills (Sivaganga district), Theerthamalai Hills (Dharmapuri district), Gingee Hill (Villipuram district), Javadu Hills (Tiruvannamalai district)
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Lohit
    • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
    • Assam : Assam
    • Nagaland : Nagaland
    • Mizoram : Mizoram
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands : Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Manipur : Manipur
    • Tripura : Tripura
  • Native : Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bangladesh, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bangladesh, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • 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.
    • P.K . Hajra ., D.M. Verma and G.S. Giri (1996). Materials For The Flora Of Arunachal Pradesh , Vol (1), Pg : 254-256
    • 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=Sterculia guttata
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Trees and Vegetation Types. Sterculia guttata. 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
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