Thespesia populnea (L.) Sol. ex Corrêa

 
  • Family : MALVACEAE
    (Mallow Or Hibiscus Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : GURHAL FAMILY (गुड़हल फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System IV) : Malvaceae
  • Basionym : Hibiscus populneus L.
  • Synonym(s) : Bupariti altissima (Spreng.) Rothm.; Bupariti populnea (L.) Rothm.; Hibiscus baccifer G.Forst.; Hibiscus blumei Kuntze; Hibiscus litoreus J.Presl; Hibiscus macrophyllus (Blume) Oken; Hibiscus populifolius Salisb.; Hibiscus populneus L.; Malvaviscus populneus (L.) Gaertn.; Parita populneus (L.) Scop.; Thespesia altissima Spreng.; Thespesia macrophylla Blume; Thespesia populnea var. bynoeana Domin; Thespesia populnea var. typica Domin
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Thespesia populnea (L.) Sol. ex Corrêa
  • Common name : Portia Tree, Bhendi tree, Seaside Mahoe
  • Vernacular name :
    • Paras pipal, Parsipu, Porush, Gajadanda (Hindi)
    • Hoovarasi, Bugari mara (Kannada)
    • Otti, Puvarasu (Tamil)
    • Ganga raavi, Muni gangaraavi (Telugu)
    • Halbali, Ganjausto, Poroso pippoli, Goya (Oria)
    • Haripacchu (Sanskrit)
    • Bendi-Kazed, Paras-bhendi, Pars-pimpal (Marathi)
    • Cheelanthi, Pooparutthi, Poovarasu, Porasu (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Mangrove forests; also grown in gardens and as avenue tree
  • Comments / notes : Common along canals and near habitations. Flowers light yellow while opening, turns pink before closing
  • Key identification features : A small or moderate-sized tree with a furrowed bark. Flowers large and handsome; calyx cup-shaped, truncate; corolla yellow with a purple centre. Capsule depressed, with a blunt ridges above, full of a pale yellow juice when green.
  • Flower, Fruit : August-January
  • Distribution :
    • Karnataka : All districts of Karnataka
    • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
    • Maharashtra : Cultivated in Maharashtra
    • Tamil Nadu : All districts of Tamil Nadu
    • Delhi : Delhi
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands : Andaman Islands, Great Nicobar Island
  • Native : Aldabra, India, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, Caroline Islands, China Southeast, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Djibouti, Eritrea, Fiji, Gilbert Islands, Hainan, Hawaii, India, Jawa, Kenya, Lakshadweep Islands, Lesser Sunda Islands, Madagascar, Malaya, Maldives
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Widely distributed in the tropics
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
    • R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
    • R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District
    • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
    • Parkinson, C.E. 1923. A Forest Flora of the Andaman Islands, Govt. of India, Shimla: 97
    • K.Ravikumar, A.C.Tangavelou, & Navendu Page. (2021). Seed plants of Karnataka, India: A concise dictionary. FRLHT-TDU, National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), Chennai.
    • B. K. Sinha. (1999). Flora of Great Nicobar Island (P. K. Hajra & P. S. N. Rao, Eds.). Botanical Survey of India.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : https://indiatrees-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Thespesia populnea
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Trees and Vegetation Types. Thespesia populnea. Downloaded on 3 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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