Hildegardia populifolia

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Hildegardia_populifolia_mature_specimen.jpg

|image_caption = H. populifolia tree cultivated in Hollywood, Florida, USA

|status = CR

|status_system = IUCN2.3

|status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=World Conservation Monitoring Centre |date=1998 |title=Hildegardia populifolia |volume=1998 |page=e.T33656A9801072 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T33656A9801072.en |access-date=16 November 2021}}

|genus = Hildegardia (plant)

|species = populifolia

|authority = (Roxb.) Schott & Endl.

|synonyms = *Clompanus populifolia Kuntze

• Firmiana populifolia Terrac.
• Hildegardia candolleana Steud.
• Hildegardia candollei Schott & Endl.
• Sterculia populifolia Roxb. & Wall.{{cite web|url=http://www.malvaceae.info/Genera/Hildegardia/Hildegardia.php|title=The Hildegardia Page|last=Hinsley|first=Stewart Robert|publisher=Malvaceae Info|access-date=2 May 2010}}

}}

Hildegardia populifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It is found only in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in India. It is threatened by habitat loss; just about 20 trees are known to exist on the eastern slopes of the Kalrayan Hills.

This is a deciduous tree growing up to 20 meters tall. It has lobed leaves and panicles of flowers with red sepals and no petals. Most trees produce both male and bisexual flowers.Raju, A. J. S., Chandra, P. H., & Krishna, J. R. (2014). [https://threatenedtaxa.org/JoTT/article/view/967/1730 Monoecy, anemophily, anemochory and regeneration ecology of Hildegardia populifolia (Roxb.) Schott. and Endl.(Malvaceae), an economically important endemic and endangered dry deciduous tree species of southern Eastern Ghats, India.] Journal of Threatened Taxa, 6(2), 5434-5446.

The bee Trigona iridipennis feeds on the pollen and nectar. The flowers are visited by several bird species, such as the red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer), rufous-backed shrike (Lanius schach), blue-tailed bee-eater (Merops philippinus), and stork-billed kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis), some of which are predators of the bee.