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Sterculia setigera
Malvaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Sterculia setigera

Sterculia setigera

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
Growth—

Grows best in a fertile, well-drained soil in a sunny, sheltered position[1]. A dioecious species - both male and female forms need to be grown if seed is required. 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[3].

Propagation

Seed - a physical dormancy caused by the hard seed coat 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[4]. The aril surrounding the seed should also be removed - this is easiest when it has been softened through soaking in water[4]. 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[4]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Sterculia+setigera>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]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.
  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]Sterculia and Brachychiton: a comprehensive overview on their ethnopharmacology, biological activities, phytochemist — Thabet A.A. et al · 2018 · http://10.1111/jphp.12876 ↩︎
  4. [4]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.
  5. [5]Trees and Shrubs of the Sahel. Their Characteristics and Uses. — von Maydell H. · Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit; Germany · 1990 · ISBN 3-8236-1198-4 ↩︎A well-researched book, usually with more than one photograph of each species and good information on the plant and its uses.
  6. [6]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.
  7. [7]African Flowering Plants Database — Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. · http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php ↩︎Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
  8. [8]Edible Nuts. — Wickens G.E. · FAO, Rome. · 1995 · http://www.fao.org/docrep/ · ISBN 92-5-103748-5 ↩︎Detailed information on 20 of the most valuable nut crops, plus more basic information on a wide range of other nut-producing plants. It can be downloaded from the Internet.