Portia Tree

Common Name : Portia Tree

Botanical Name : Thespesia populnea

Thespesia populnea, commonly known as the Portia Tree is species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is a small tree or arborescent shrub that has a pantropical distribution, found on coasts around the world. However, the Portia Tree is probably native only to the Old World and may have originated in India.

The Portia Tree reaches a height of 6–10 m (20–33 ft) tall and a trunk diameter of 20–30 cm (7.9–12 in).It grows at elevations from sea level to 275 m (902 ft) in areas that receive 500–1,600 mm (20–63 in) of annual rainfall.The Portia Tree is able to grow in the wide range of soil types that may be present in coastal environments, including soils derived Common names vary according to the country and include Indian Tulip Tree, Pacific Rosewood, Seaside Mahoe (in Florida), Surina (the "elegant tree"), Suriya (Sinhala), Bebaru or Baru baru (Malay), Milo or Miro (in many Polynesian languages, Makooi (Rapanui), Gangaraavi (Malayalam), PakuR (Bengali) and Plaksa (Sanskrit).Its name ultimately derives from the Tamil (puvarasu) – the wood from the tree was used by early Tamil people from quartz (sand, limestone, and basalt it favors neutral soils (pH  of 6– 7.4).

It is used to make the thavi, a Carnatic musical instrument of South India. Milo is popular in Hawaii for woodworking (commonly turned into bowls) because of the range of colors expressed (tan, through yellow, to red).