Sterculia urens - Indian Ghost Tree

Indian Ghost Tree is a medium-sized, deciduous tree to 15 m in height, usually with a clean, crooked, short bole up to 2 m DBH; branches large, spreading; bark thick, greyish-white or reddish, smooth, shining with a thin, white transparent outer coat, peeling off in papery flakes. The tree gets its spooky name because its smooth, whitish-yellow bark shines brilliantly in the dark, giving it a ghost-like appearance in the jungle. Leaves on long stalks, crowded at the ends of branches, palmately 5-lobed, 20-30 cm diameter; woolly beneath, hairless above, entire, tapering; stipules falling off. Flowers are greenish yellow, small, borne at branch-ends, in panicles. The specific name urens means stinging in reference to the hairs on flowers. Fruit consists of 5 stalkless, radiating, ovate-lanceshaped hard, leathery carpels, 7.5 cm long, red when ripe, covered outside with many stiff bristles. Trees exude gum karaya used in foodstuffs as emulsifiers, stabilizers and thickeners. Seeds are eaten after roasting. Seeds and young tender roots are eaten in times of famine.