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Sterculia foetida
Malvaceae FAMILY

Sterculia foetida

Sterculia foetida

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The raw seed is said to be poisonous by some cultures, though roasting the seed destroys the toxic principle[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthMedium

Sterculia foetida is a plant of the hot, tropical lowlands, where it is found at elevations up to 1,500 metres[2]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 18 - 32°c, but can tolerate 16 - 36°c[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall within the range 1,100 - 1,800mm, but tolerates 900 - 2,000mm, growing in areas both with or without a clear dry season[2]. Prefers a deep, fertile, moist but well-drained soil in a sunny, sheltered position[3, 4, 5]. Succeeds in a wide range of soils[6]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7.5, tolerating 5 - 8[2]. The flowers are very malodorous[3, 7]. The trees can be tapped for their gum about 5 times during their lifetime[2]. The gum is collected in India after making incisions or wounds in the trunk and branches of the tree. The gum that exudes from these wounds is allowed to solidify to form irregular tears that are consequently cleaned and sorted[8]. Dioecious, with male and female flowers found on separate trees[9]. Both male and female forms must be grown if seed is required[9].

Propagation

Seed - needs to be sown when fresh[3]. Seedlings grow rapidly and form long taproots[9]. They need to be planted into their permanent positions as soon as possible. A physical dormancy caused by the hard seed coat of the mature seeds of many species in this genus can be overcome by scarifying the seed. This is carried out by cutting away or abrading some of the seed coat to allow the ingress of water, though great care must be taken not to damage the embryo[10]. The aril surrounding the seed should also be removed - this is easiest when it has been softened through soaking in water[10]. The seeds germinate optimally at temperatures between 20 - 30°c. They can be sown in a nursery seedbed or in containers. A germination rate of about 95%, occurring within about 2 weeks can be expected if the seed has been properly treated[10]. Cuttings Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Sterculia+foetida>

Pollinators

Insects, cicadas

References

  1. [1]Fruits of Oceania — Annie Walter & Chanel Sam · Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research · 2002 · ISBN 1-86320-331-1 ↩︎A detailed guide to some of the more common edible fruits of Oceania
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Tropical Ornamentals; A Guide — Whistler. W. Arthur. · Timber Press Inc. Oregon. · 2000 · ISBN 0-88192-448-2 ↩︎An excellent little guide to some of the more commonly cultivated ornamental plants of the Tropics, often giving some information on the plants other uses.
  5. [5]Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. — Barwick. M. · Thames & Hudson, London · 2004 · ISBN 0-500-51181-0 ↩︎A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
  6. [6]Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory — Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M. · U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service · 1987 ↩︎A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.
  7. [7]Economic Products of India. Volume 1. — Watt. G. · Government of India: Calcutta. · 1883 ↩︎Although over 100 years old, it still contains a wealth of information on useful plants. Many of the botanical names have been changed since then, so you have to check for up to date names. The book can be downloaded from the Internet.
  8. [8]Sterculia and Brachychiton: a comprehensive overview on their ethnopharmacology, biological activities, phytochemist — Thabet A.A. et al · 2018 · http://10.1111/jphp.12876 ↩︎
  9. [9]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  10. [10]Seed Leaflets — Various · Forest & Landscape. Denmark · http://en.sl.life.ku.dk/Publikationer/Udgivelser/PopulaerPublikationer.aspx?katid={D28373CC-6EF3-4EF8-B097-6D83FABF209E}&serieid={9F1C3DB1-6E7B-4CF1-AF53-F480B0CB40EF}&sort=title ↩︎A series of leaflets, jointly produced by the University of Copenhagen and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, focussing on seed information for a number species, but also giving a lot of other information about each plant.
  11. [11]Minor Products of Philippine Forests — Brown. W. H. · Bureau of Forestry, Manilla. · 1920 ↩︎A useful guide to some of the plants of the area, though terse on details. The book is out of copyright and can be legally downloaded from the Internet.
  12. [12]Nuts. — Howes. F. N. · Faber · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎Rather old but still a masterpiece. Has sections on tropical and temperate plants with edible nuts plus a section on nut plants in Britain. Very readable.
  13. [13]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  14. [14]Flowers of India — http://www.flowersofindia.net/ ↩︎A wed site of native Indian plants, plus cultivated and naturalized species. It has good quality photos and terse details on more than 3,000 species and cultivars.
  15. [15]Asean Tropical Plant Database — http://211.114.21.20/tropicalplant/index.jsp ↩︎Terse details, with photos, of many of the plants growing in the tropical forests of southeast Asia. Gives some details of plant uses along with a description of the plant and its range.
  16. [16]Plants and People of Nepal — Manandhar. N. P. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 2002 · ISBN 0-88192-527-6 ↩︎Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses.
  17. [17]A Field Guide to Forest Trees of Northern Thailand — Gardener S.; Sidisunthorn P.; Anusarnsunthorn V. · Kobfai Publishing Project; Bangkok. · 2000 · ISBN 974-7799-01-4 ↩︎An excellent, concise guide to 430 species, plus notes on another 450 species. Excellent photographs and a separate section on distribution and plant uses.
  18. [18]Pharmacographia Indica — Dymock W.; Warden C.J.H.; Hooper D. · Education Society's Press, Byculla; Mombai. · 1890 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Information on the principal plant medicines encountered in India in the 19th century.
  19. [19]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  20. [20]Flora Medica — Lindley J. · Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans: London · 1838 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A massive work - many of the botanical names have changed, but the book is still a wealth of information.
  21. [21]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  22. [22]Useful Fiber Plants of the World — Dodge C.R. · USDA; Washington. · 1897 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A rather dated, but very comprehensive catalogue of fibre plants from around the world. The book can be downloaded from the Internet.