Woolly wrightia (Wrightia arborea)

Woolly wrightia, Wrightia arborea, is a small deciduous tree of dry forests across India, best known by its older name Wrightia tomentosa. Its leaves and young shoots are covered in soft hairs, and its creamy flowers carry a ring of orange scales at the centre. Its pale, soft wood is a carver’s timber.

Botanical name: Wrightia arborea (Dennst.) Mabb.
Family: Apocynaceae
Tamil: Palita palai
Hindi: Dudhi
Parts used: Timber
Habit: Woolly pala tree; vetpalai is W. tinctoria
Last updated: 2026-10-25

How to recognise Woolly wrightia

The leaves are opposite and velvety on both sides, especially when young. That woolly feel separates it from Wrightia tinctoria, the indigo-yielding pala, whose leaves are smooth and glossy.

Flowers appear in the hot season in loose clusters: cream to pale yellow, five-petalled, with a fringed orange-red corona in the middle that is easy to see up close.

The fruit is a pair of long, woody pods that stay joined along their length. When they split they release narrow seeds, each with a tuft of white silky hair at one end.

Like other members of the oleander family it bleeds milky sap when a leaf or twig is broken.

Traditional use of Woolly wrightia

Woodcraft

The wood is white, light and even-grained. It is used for carving, toys, combs and turned objects, much as its cousin Wrightia tinctoria is for the lacquered toys of Andhra Pradesh.

Indian woodcraft

Folk practice

Bark preparations appear in regional folk lists. Those uses have not been tested in clinical trials.

Regional Indian folk practice

Modern notes on Woolly wrightia

Laboratory studies report sterols and triterpenes in the bark and leaves, as in many trees of this family. There is no clinical evidence for medicinal use.

Foresters value it as a hardy native for degraded dry land, where it coppices well after cutting.

Woolly wrightia safety

The milky sap can irritate skin and eyes. Do not take bark or sap internally.

Ecology and sourcing

It grows in dry deciduous forest and scrub from the Himalayan foothills to the south and into Southeast Asia. It sheds its leaves in the dry season and flowers before the new ones appear.

The silky-haired seeds drift on the wind, which helps it colonise open, disturbed ground.

Related plants

Also in Apocynaceae

Questions about Woolly wrightia

Is Woolly wrightia vetpalai?

No. Vetpalai, the indigo pala, is Wrightia tinctoria, which has smooth leaves.

What older names does Wrightia arborea go by?

Wrightia tomentosa.

Why “woolly”?

The leaves and young shoots are covered in soft hairs.

Sources

Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.