Flowering and fruiting period: January – September

Distribution: Sri Lanka, North East India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and China

Habitat: Occurring in sacred grooves and low land areas

Uses: Ornamental, anti-inflammatory. A red powder made from the wood is also used as an antiseptic paste. In ancient Indian medicine, the ground seeds are used to treat boils and inflammations. A decoction of the leaves is used to treat gout and rheumatism.

Key Characters: Red bead tree is a deciduous tree with grey to reddish-brown bark. Leaves simple bipinnate, alternate. Leaflets with entire margin. Flowers- bisexual, pale yellow; petals 5. Stamens 10, free. Ovary subsessile and flat. Style filiform with simple stigma. Fruit a pod, spirally coiled after dehiscence. Seeds are glossy and red in colour Adenanthera gersenii
.