A large shrub or small tree, 1-5 m tall, young branches covered with white cottony tomentum. Leaves 6-18 x 3-10 cm, elliptic-oblong or obovate-oblong, base cordate, tip acute or shortly acuminate, petiole almost absent to 2 cm, young leaves covered with cottony tomentum becoming subglabrous. Flowers 3-4.5 cm in diameter, purplish or white. Peduncles up to 18 cm long, pedicels 5-8.8 cm long. Sepals 3-4 mm long. Corolla 1.5-2.2 cm long. Fruit 7-10 cm long and 2.5-4.0 cm broad, recurved. Seeds 5-6 mm long, broadly ovate, flat, minute¬ly tomentose, comose.

Type: Herb Hermann vol. 2, p. 74 (BM).

Distribution: India, Ceylon, Nepal, Maldive Islands, South China and Malesia.

There is no authentic record of this species from Pakistan. Large specimens of Calotropis procera subsp. hamiltonii (Wight) Ali have erroneously been referred to as Calotropis gigantea (L) Aiton f.