Sterculia foetida L. is distinguished from other Sterculia species recorded in Malaysia by having palmate leaves (Wilkie & Berhaman, 2011). It is popularly known as 'kelumpang jari' in Malay because the leaves look like 'jari' or fingers (Francis, 2010). Sterculia foetida is mainly found in the coastal area from East Africa to Northern Australia, including Southeast Asia, Malaya, and Pacific Islands (NParks' Publication, 2009).

This deciduous tree can grow up to 30 m tall, and the crown is roughly conical and quite dense (Nparks' Publication, 2009). The bark is grey to brown, fissured to dippled, and lenticellate. The leaves are palmately compound with 5–9 leaflets, clustered towards the ends of twigs, and have leathery blades with long leaf stalks. The flowers are greenish-yellow becoming red at the margin, red in the middle, hairy, 5-lobed and emit an unpleasant odour. The fruits are attractive with 1-5 big red pod-like woody capsules clustered together. Each fruit splits open to reveal approximately 20 purple-black ellipsoid seeds of c. 2.5 cm long and 1.3 cm in diameter (Wilkie & Berhaman, 2011).