✿Celastraceae · Lophopetalum
Banati / Spindle Tree
Lophopetalum wightianum
Treeoutdoor
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu & more
- Flowering
- November-July
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Lophopetalum wightianum
- Genus
- Lophopetalum
- Family
- Celastraceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Evergreen forests and sacred groves
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Native to
- Indo-Malayan
- Distribution
- Indo-Malesia
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Puducherry
- Flowering & fruiting
- November-July
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (LC)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- Glossy ovalrecorded
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Banati itself; the rest are typical of the Celastraceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Capsule
Typical of the Celastraceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.
Local Names
- Hindi
- बनाती banati, balpale, banati
- Nepali
- बलपले balapale
- Tamil
- காருக்கா karukka, வெள்ள பலா vella pala, வெள்ளபோலம் vellapolam
- Kannada
- ಬಲ್ಪಾಲೆ balpaale, ಬೆಲ್ಪಾಲೆ Belpaale, ಬನಾಟೆ banaate
- Malayalam
- വെമ്പാല vembala, വെണ്കടവം venkatavam, വെങ്കൊട്ട venkotta
- Marathi
- बलफळे balphale, बनाती banati
About Banati
Spindle Tree (Lophopetalum wightianum) is a tree in the Celastraceae family. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and 4 other states. It grows in evergreen forests and sacred groves. Flowering and fruiting run from November to July.

Botanical family
Celastraceae
Staff-Tree Family
Banati belongs to the Celastraceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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