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Malvaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Sterculia rhinopetala

Sterculia rhinopetala

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthSlow

The plant is classified as a non-pioneer light demander[1]. It is shade-tolerant[1]. These apparently conflicting statements probably indicate that young plants are shade tolerant although older plants are more light demanding[PFAF]. A slow-growing tree[1]. Annual bole diameter increment in secondary forest in Cameroon averaged 3.6mm. In this forest some individuals were present in the main canopy, but the majority of individuals occurred as recruits in the lower storeys[1]. In Cote d'Ivoire the annual increment in diameter was 3.3 - 7.3mm in natural forest and 5.0 - 12.4mm in a strongly thinned forest, but trees over 40cm in bole diameter have slower diameter growth: about 2.5 mm per yea[1]r. In Cote d'Ivoire 14-year-old planted trees showed a mean annual growth in diameter of 1cm[1].

Propagation

Seed - germinates rapidly both in light and in darkness. Germination starts after 4 - 12 days[1]. Planting in full sun is 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[2]. The aril surrounding the seed should also be removed - this is easiest when it has been softened through soaking in water[2]. 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[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Sterculia+rhinopetala>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  2. [2]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.
  3. [3]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  4. [4]Tropix 7 — CIRAD · http://tropix.cirad.fr/en ↩︎An on-line guide to the timbers of 245 species of trees.
  5. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎