Herbarium JCB

Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers.

Family : FABACEAE
(PEA OR BEAN FAMILY)
Family (as per The Plant List) : Leguminosae
Subfamily : Faboideae
Species : Tephrosia purpurea
Basionym : Cracca purpurea L.
Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers.
Common name : Common Tephrosia, Wild Indigo
Vernacular name : Sarponkha, Damasia (Hin.); Kolingii, Koggi gida, Sharapunkha (Kan.); Kolinchi, Kattukolingi, Avuri (Tam.); Neela vempali, Bonta vempali (Tel.); Bano Kuthi, Gileri, Kulathio, Ban nilo, Mohisia Kotathiya, Pokha, Soropokha (Ori.)
Collection Nos : HJCB-E-394
Collector(s) Name : Malathi K.Rao
Collection Date : January, 2016
Collection Locality : Horsley Hills, Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh State
Key identification features : Glabrescent erect undershrub. Leaves are even-pinnate. Inflorescence is a many-flowered raceme. Petals pink in colour. Fruit is a pod which is slightly curved.
Habit : Undershrub
Flower, Fruit : Throughout the Year
Comments : On foothills up to 750 m. Gregarious in wastelands, fallow fields and along foot hills of deciduous to scrub forests. Also grows in poor, less fertile soil.
Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
Distribution Locality : Throughout Eastern Ghats
World Distribution : Tropical Africa, South Africa, Himalayas, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Australia; Introduced in Tropical America
Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2001 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 2; J.L.Ellis, 1987- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 1 ; R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District ; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District; H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipal, Orissa; N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka; Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983.
Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Arun Singh R., Deepak Kumar, Raja K Swamy and Navendu Page (2016). Digital Flora of Eastern Ghats. http://easternghats.ces.iisc.ernet.in/plants.php?name=Tephrosia purpurea. Downloaded on 1 July 2025.