Distribution and habitat:  Coastal regions throughout India, often planted as avenue tree.

Botany: A fairy large quick growing, ever green up to 18 m in height with grayish brown fissured bark.

• Leaves : Simple alternate, long petioled, cordate, entire, acuminate, prominent nerves 5-7 with peltate scales on one or both surfaces.
• Flowers : Yellow with purple base, slowly changing to purple on withering.
•  Fruits : Globose or oblong brown capsules covered with minute peltate scales , pubescent chanelled along the back.

Properties: The plant is astringent, acrid, cooling, depurative, anti-inflammatory, haemostatic, vulnerary, alterant, antidiarrhoeal and anti bacterial.

Uses: It is useful in dermatopathy such as scabies, psoriasis, leprosy, urethritis, gonorrhoea, haemorrhoids, dysentery, cholera, diabetes, dipsia, cough, asthma, and catarrah.

Propagation: By seeds