Sterculia urens

Description

Sterculia urens is a species of plant in the family Malvaceae. It is native to India and has been introduced into Burma. A small to medium-sized tree with a pale-coloured trunk, it is commonly known as the in Marathi (meaning ghost tree), kulu, Indian tragacanth, gum karaya, katira, sterculia gum or kateera gum. The specific name urens refers to the stinging hairs present on the flowers. Sterculia urens var. thorelii (Pierre) C. Phengklai is an accepted name according to the Catalogue of Life and found in Vietnam, where it is known as bảy thưa Thorel. Synonyms of S.u. thorelii are: Sterculia thorelii Pierre and Clompanus thorellii Kuntze. The gum karaya is a medium-sized deciduous tree with horizontally-spreading branches, growing to a maximum height of about 15 m (49 ft). The bark is smooth, fibrous and thick, greenish-grey, with the surface layer peeling off in large flakes. The twigs are hairy at first. The leaves are alternate, simple, hairy beneath and have three to five palmate lobes. They are clustered at the tips of the twigs.