The plant of Devil’s cotton reaches to 2.5 m tall having a small spread. Leaves measures about 20 cm across and have palmate veins. The stems and leaves have soft bristle hairs that irritates the skin. Flowers measures 5 cm as diameter. Sepals are lanceolate and the five petals are concave, purple to dark red. It contains many seeds. The plant bears flowers from July to August.
| Name | Devil’s cotton |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Abroma augusta |
| Native | Available in Eastern Africa, South & Tropical Asia and Australia. It is cultivated widely in India from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Meghalaya. It is cultivated for ornamental purposes. |
| Common/English Name | Devil’s Cotton, Ulat kambal |
| Name in Other Languages | Hindi: Ulat Kambal; Sanskrit: Pishach karpas, Ulat kambal; Ayurvedic: Ulat kambal; Assamese: Bon kopashi; Bengali: Ulat kambal; Chinese: Shuo ma; Hindi: Ulat kambal; Tamil: Sivapputtutti; Malayalam: Shivapparuthy, Karimparuthy; Unani: Ulat kambal |
| Plant Growth Habit | Large shrub or small tree |
| Plant Size | 2.5 m |
| Bark | Fibrous, dull brown |
| Branchlets | Downy |
| Leaf | Ovate to oblong, long, pointed, alternate, heart shaped; Length: 10-21 cm; Wide: 5.5-13 cm |
| Flowering Season | June-September |
| Flower | Across: 5 cm, bisexual; Diameter: 5 cm, purple, dark red or yellow |
| Sepals | Lance shaped, base fused |
| Petals | Five, concave, prolonged above |
| Fruit shape & size | Capsule, five winged, obpyramidal, Diameter: 3.5 cm |
| Seed | Obovate, 3 x 2 mm |
| Health Benefits |
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| Traditional uses |
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| Precautions |
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