Sola Pith

Aeschynomene aspera is a flowering plant in the pea family, also known as sola, shola, sola pith plant, pith plant, laugauni in Hindi, bendu-chettu in Telugu, ponguchedi in Malayalam and netti in Tamil. It is an aquatic plant, native from Bangladesh and India to Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam, and a minor weed of rice paddies. The part used is the spongy wood of the stem, one of the lightest woods in the world, corky in texture and bright white to off-white. Its low density made it the material of the hats called pith helmets or sola topis. The corky material is used to make traditional Indian crafts and artworks, and decorative objects for worship, including the ornaments of goddess idols. In Cambodia the young leaves and flowers are eaten in salads in times of famine, and in local medicine the plant treats uterine bleeding.