Eden

Penang Botanic Gardens Plant Collection

Kleinhovia hospita L. (MALVACEAE)

Posted at — Nov 13, 2019
Guest Tree, Bataria Teak, Temahai, Laban

Description

Small evergreen tree to 12 m, sometimes much taller. Leaves 8-15 cm long, ovate to heart-shaped. Flowers pink in large terminal brunches, 1.2-1.5 cm long. Fruits 2-3 cm long, globose, deeply 5-lobed, bladder-like with inflated thin papery wall, pale pink to brownish.

Ecology

Scattered but locally common in secondary forest, often near limestone hill base.

Distribution

Widespread in W. Africa, India, Sri Lanka, S. China, Taiwan, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia and Polynesia.