Aeschynomene aspera
| Sola | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Genus: | Aeschynomene |
| Species: | A. aspera |
| Binomial name | |
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Aeschynomene aspera L. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Aeschynomene aspera is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is also known by the names Sola, Shola (Bengali শোলা) Sola pith plant, Pith plant, Laugauni (Hindi) or Netti (Tamil) .Pith of low density from this plant is used to make hats known as pith helmets or sola topis.
It is native to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.
It is an aquatic plant and is considered a minor weed of rice paddies across its range.
From the biological viewpoint the used part, is the wood of the stem, (that is often mistaken as pith, but it is not ).
Aeschynomene sp. woods is one of the lightest woods in the world. Aeschynomene woods feel like a piece of thermocol or even lighter, and have a corky texture. It is bright white to off-white (white with a slight reddish or yellowish tinge) in color.
This corky material is used to make some traditional Indian crafts and artworks, and also the decoration objects for worship, etc.
Shola craftwork or Shola-pith craftwork
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Wikipedia