ကျွဲမချိုလိမ်

Myanmar Name – Kywe Ma Gyo Lain

Common Name – Pala Indigo Plant, Padiri Tree

Botanical Name – Stereospermum suaveolens DC.

Family Name – Bignoniaceae

Habitat – Typically found in various types of forests and woodlands, often in regions with a tropical or subtropical climate. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, including countries like India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

Habit – Deciduous trees, to 25 m high; bark grey, exfoliating in flat scales; blaze dull yellow.

Bark – Rough and grayish-brown, fissures or cracks.

Leaves – Leaves compound, imparipinnate, opposite, estipulate; rachis 150-450 mm long, pubescent, slender, swollen at base; leaflets 5-11, opposite. They have a smooth texture and are usually dark green in color.

Inflorescence – Terminal, lax drooping panicles. It has dulled crimson flowers which are complete, regular, zygomorphic, hypogynous and fragrant. Calyx – Sepals are 5, inconspicuous, campanulate, 3-5 toothed, purplish. Corolla- Petals are 5, united, bi-lipped about 2 cm long, yellowish, tinged with reddish purple.

Flower – Flowers bisexual, dull crimson, in drooping panicles, pubescent, 18 mm long; calyx campanulate, hairy, lobes 3-5, short, broad; corolla 3-4 cm long, funnel shaped, pubescent outside, lobes 5 unequal, rounded, crisped.

Fruit – Capsule, 30-60 x 0.5 cm, capsule, more or less spirally twisted, dotted with white speaks, dissepiments brownish with notches carrying seeds, nearly terete, grey, lenticellate.

Seed – Seeds 3 cm long, trigonus, with a transverse grove without and a prominent ridge within, wedge shaped, with a membranous wing with obtuse ends.

Flowering and Fruiting Time – Flowering time from March to June and fruiting time June to October.

Usage – Grown as an ornamental plant and in traditional medicine, the bark, leaves, and flowers for fever; It is used to treat skin.