Buddha Coconut (Sterculia alata), Kandy, Sri Lanka

Tall, erect trees, up to 30 m (100 ft), bark gray; leaves 3-lobed and glabrous, up to 30 cm wide (12 in); fruit globular, light brown, with tough, woody shell, about 10 cm across (4 in); seeds numerous, large, each with long, wide wing; dry, ripe fruit split open, releasing winged seeds from cup-like shell; seeds flat, square-to-oblong, about 2 cm (0.8 in) without wing, wing about 4-6 cm long (1.6-2.3 in); fruiting in dry season (February-March).

Sterculia is a genus of flowering plants.. more