Bola / Tree Mallow
Hibiscus tiliaceus
Also known as Yellow Mallow Tree, Wild Thespesia
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra & more
- Flowering
- January-April
How to identify Bola
Identify Bola by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a tree habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Flowers change color through the day.
- Confirm leaf shape: Cordate.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: January-April.
- In India, compare location records such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Malvaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Bola.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Hibiscus tiliaceus
- Genus
- Hibiscus
- Family
- Malvaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Plains, mainly coastal and river banks
- Distribution
- Tropical & sub-tropical regions of the World
- Found in India
- Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Goa, Meghalaya, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Lakshadweep
- Flowering & fruiting
- January-April
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- CordaterecordedHeart-shaped, with a notch at the base.“The leaves are heart shaped and deep red in the var.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Bola itself; the rest are typical of the Malvaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Solitary
- Fruit
- Capsule
Typical of the Malvaceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.
Local Names
- Hindi
- बोला Bola, चेल्वा Chelwa, पोला Pola
- Bengali
- বোলা Bola, ছেলবা Chelaba, সমুদ্রজবা Samudrajaba
- Tamil
- நீர்ப்பருத்தி Nir-P-Parutti, தாளிப்பருத்தி Tali-P-Parutti
- Kannada
- ಬಿಳಿಪಟ್ಟ Bilipatta, ಕಾರ್ಕ್ ಬೆಂಡು Kaark Bendu, ಸಮುದ್ರ ತೀರದ ಹತ್ತಿ Samudra Theerada hatti
- Malayalam
- തൈപ്പരുത്തി Thaipparuthi, തൈപ്പരുത്തി
- Marathi
- बेलपटा Belpata
About Bola
Tree Mallow (Hibiscus tiliaceus) is a tree in the Malvaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and 12 other states. It grows in plains, mainly coastal and river banks. Flowering and fruiting run from January to April.
Uses
In practice it is grown for parts that are eaten, long used in traditional medicine and cut for timber and furniture. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice.
Malvaceae
Mallow/Hibiscus family
Bola belongs to the Malvaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Malvaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Bola or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides