| Guest Tree |
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Botanical name: Kleinhovia hospita Family: Sterculiaceae (Cacao family)
Guest Tree is an evergreen, bushy tree growing up to 20 m high, with a dense rounded crown and upright pink sprays of flowers and fruits. It grows from 8 to 15 m in height. The leaves are broadly ovate, and 10-20 cm long, with pointed tip, and heart-shaped base. The flowers are pink, about 8 mm long, and borne in panicles 20-40 cm long, terminating the branches. The fruit is a thin-walled, inflated capsule about 2 cm long. The young leaves are eaten as a green. The bast fiber is widely used for tying bundles. It is also made into rope which is used for tethering carabaos and horses, and for making halters. The rope is said to be durable during rainy weather.
Medicinal uses: Guest Tree is used as a traditional medicine in parts of Malaya, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea to treat scabies. The bark and leaves used as hairwash for lice, while the juice of the leaves are used as an eyewash.
Identification credit: Dinesh Valke
| Photographed in Maharashtra. |