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A flowering beauty that reigns tall
The Wal Ehela is a large tree growing up to 35m in height. It has a crown of dense foliage and the branches droop down towards the ground from far above. The bark of the tree is dark brown, vertically furrowed and peels away in long pieces. The leaves of the Wal Ehela are dark green and made up of smaller leaflets.

The tree has small yellow flowers, which are very fragrant, and which cover the tree from March to May each year. The flowers are tiny and appear in dense clusters. They fall off with the slightest wind, and one day the tree will be covered with a curtain of flowers and the next, the only evidence of that yellow curtain is the carpet of yellow that can be seen beneath the tree. The flowers are followed by little pods which have ‘wings’ along the margin.

The Wal Ehela is planted in urban areas usually for aesthetic purposes and to provide shade. Here in Colombo it can be seen on Horton Place and on Race Course Avenue, opposite Royal College. A specimen can also be seen opposite Independence Square, on the corner of Independence Avenue.

The tree is famous for its timber, which is of very good quality and used for making furniture. The wood has a reddish hue to it, and when cut, there is a red gummy extract, which flows from the bark.

The Wal Ehela is known as the Andaman Redwood in English. It was introduced to Sri Lanka, as the name indicates from the Andaman Islands and Malaysia. The Sinhala name is a reference to the yellow flowers, which it has in common with the Ehela tree. Of course the shade of yellow and the formation of the flowers is very different, and not to be confused with that of the Ehela. The Tamil name is Kengei and the botanical name is Pterocarpus indicus.
Compiled by: Ruk Rakaganno (2554438 or rukraks@sltnet.lk)

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