Sola pith plant

Aeschynomene aspera

Also known as Pith plant

UndershruboutdoorMedicinal

About Sola pith plant

Aeschynomene aspera is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is also known by the names sola (Odia: ସୋଲ), shola (Bengali: শোলা) sola pith plant, pith plant, laugauni (Hindi), Bendu-chettu (Telugu), ponguchedi (Malayalam) or Netti (Tamil). The low density wood of this plant is used to make hats known as pith helmets or sola topis. It is native to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is an aquatic plant and is considered a minor weed of rice paddies across its range.

Description adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Plant Details

Scientific name: Aeschynomene aspera
Genus: Aeschynomene
Family: FABACEAE
Habit: Undershrub
Habitat: Moist places in dry deciduous forests and plains
Distribution: India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Bhutan, Myanmar, Malay peninsula, Siam, Java, Tropical Africa
Flowering & fruiting: August-January
Conservation status: Least Concern (LC)

Local Names

Hindi: सोला Sola, sola
Nepali: ढोँध्या Dhondhyaa, सक्ला Saklaa
Bengali: শোলা Shola, শোলা
Kannada: ಅಲಗು Alagu, ಅಲಗಿನಗಿಡ Alagina gida, ಅಲಿಗಿನ ಗಿಡ
Malayalam: Neerkadasam, Ponguchedi, പൊങ്ങുചെടി

Botanical family

Fabaceae

Legume/Bean family

Sola pith plant belongs to the Fabaceae family.

The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.

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