Miliusa tomentosa is a large deciduous tree with 15âÂÂ20 metre height. It is commonly known as wooly miliusa. The native range of this species is the Indian subcontinent. It is a tree and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome. <br/>
Woolly miliusa is a large deciduous tree, growing up to 20 m tall. Bark is blackish brown. Leaves are thick leathery, ovate, oblong, 4âÂÂ10 cm long, 2âÂÂ5.5 cm broad, smooth above, softly hairy below, base rounded, margin entire, tip pointed, leaf-stalk 2âÂÂ5 mm. Flowers are greenish, 1.5 cm across, solitary or in pairs opposite the leaf. Sepals are about 4 mm long, linear-lanceshaped. Petals are 3+3, about 6 mm long, outer petals sepal-like, inner ones oblong to obovate. Fruits are dark purple, nearly spherical, 8âÂÂ17 arranged in a ring, 2âÂÂ3 cm across, stalk 1âÂÂ1.5 cm long, seeds 3âÂÂ4. It flowers from May to June.
It belongs to the family Annonaceae.
A qualitative preliminary phytochemical analysis of dried leaves of this plant revealed the presence of carbohydrate, protein, cardiac glycoside, glycosides, alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, steroids, anthraquinones, tannins, quinines and inorganic compounds.
The oil from its seeds is used in Chinese traditional medicine for its antibacterial and analgesic properties.
Butterflies such as the tawny rajah, tailed jay, common jay, spot swordtail, and narrow banded bluebottle feed on the leaves of this tree.