''Liquidambar excelsa'', the rasamala, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Altingiaceae Altingiaceae is a small Family (biology), family of flowering plants in the Order (biology), order Saxifragales,Peter F. Stevens (2001 onwards). "Altingiaceae". At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see ''Exter ...

Distribution and habitat

It is native to

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

and

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

in China, Bhutan, India (

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

), Bangladesh, and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, including western

Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms. It is a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical kingdom. It was first recognized as a distinct region ...

. A tree reaching , it is typically found in wet tropical forests at elevations from .

References

excelsa Flora of Tibet Flora of Yunnan Flora of East Himalaya Flora of Bangladesh Flora of Assam (region) Flora of Indo-China Flora of Sumatra Flora of Malaya Flora of Java Flora of the Lesser Sunda Islands Plants described in 1841 {{Saxifragales-stub