Sterculia setigera Delile

A tree. It grows 16 m high. It has small buttresses at the base. The trunk is 1.5 m around. It loses its leaves during the year. The bark is grey and flakes off in oblong pieces leaving a light coloured bark underneath. The leaves have 3-5 lobes spread out like fingers on a hand. The leaf stalks are 8 cm long. The leaves are velvety with hairs on both surfaces. Trees are separately male and female. The flowers are dull red or yellowish-green. They are in small groups on last year's shoots. The fruit form 3-5 boat shaped parts. There are about 12 seeds in each section. The layer around the seeds is yellow.

Savannah; Acacia-Commiphora woodland; wooded grassland and bushland; characteristic of stony hills; rocky slopes or black cotton soil; dry deciduous riverine and savannah forest; sandy or gravelly soils; laterite; elevations from 500-1,900 metres

The seeds are used as a famine food. The gum is used in food preparations. It is soluble in water and used to bind sauces.

Plants can be grown from seeds.