Very upright, deciduous tree, to 27-30 m by 30-160 cm ø; crown narrow, cylindrical, rather open; bark light grey, rough and flaky; young leaves purple or violaceous. Leaves 30-75 cm, with rather sticky hairs, stalks yellowish; leaflets (2-)3(-4) pairs, rounded at the asymmetric base, ovate-oblong, long-tipped, 8-16 by 3-7 cm; petiolules 5-10 mm. Flowers in large spreading viscid-pilose clusters, 8-30 cm ø, on the bare twigs or with the new leaves. Calyx tubular, with 5 very short pointed lobes, c. 8-12 mm. Corolla dull white to pale pink or pale pinkish lilac, narrow funnel-shaped, without a distinct basal tube, the tube 4-5 cm long, the lobes beautifully long-fringed (as a dainty night cap), c. 2 cm. Filaments glabrous, inserted at c. 11-13 mm from the base. Capsule more or less quadrangular, snake-like twisted, 35-60 cm by 8—12 mm; septum c. 5 mm Ø. Seeds c. 2½ cm long, 7 mm wide, with rather thick wings.
In the lowland and hill forests, in Burma up to 1000 m, in Malaya in high forest and open country: frequent in villages and belukar from Malacca to Perlis and Kelantan, often on rocky coasts and headlands. Fl. Febr.-June; fr. March-Nov. "After the first spell of dry weather the leaves f are shed and the flowers appear on the bare boughs in delicate clusters until the new foliage is mature; in the early morning the corollas spin down like snow-flakes and carpet the ground with pale lilac blossom. There are many trees in the Christian Cemetery at Malacca, and a fairer one for a graveyard would be hard to come by" (CORNER, l.c.).
Uses. A hard and durable fairly large timber rather dark coloured, used for beams and posts and said to be durable in the soil.Roots and leaves are used medicinally for some minor ailments: juice of leaves is dropped into the ear for ear-ache; leaves pounded with lime are applied to the skin for itch; a decoction of roots is given as a protective medicine after childbirth ( BURKILL Dict. 1935 2082 ).
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