Herbarium JCB

Cryptolepis buchananii Roemer & Schultes

Family : ASCLEPIADACEAE
(Milkweed Family)
Family (Hindi name) : AAK FAMILY (आक फैमिली)
Family (as per The APG System III) : APOCYNACEAE
Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Cryptolepis buchananii Roem. & Schult.
Common name : Wax-leaved climber
Vernacular name : Karanta (Hindi); Kare balli, Halu balli (Kannada); Paal kodi, Mattaankodi (Tamil); Adavi paalatiga, Gunji teega, Guruguvalateega, Meerpativa, Morsimada, Palatiga (Telugu); Khir kaichi, Dhudhimal, Kongha, Narbraha, Gar, Gopkanu, Gobkania, Khir kandi, Dhudi (Oria); Karamta (Marathi); Kattupalvalli, Kalipalvalli, Kilipalvalli, Palvalli (Malayalam)
Habit : Climbing shrub
Habitat : Moist and dry deciduous forests, also in the plains
Comments / notes : Common on foothills to 1300m on cleared slopes, forest border etc. A ready colonizer.
Flower, Fruit : March-September
Distribution :
- Andhra Pradesh : Anantapur district, Chittoor district, Kadapa district, East Godavari district, Guntur district, Krishna district, Kurnool district, Nellore district, Prakasam district, Srikakulam district, Vishakapatnam district, Vizianagaram district, West Godavari district
- Karnataka : Ballari district, Kolar district, Chamarajanagar district
- Kerala : All districts of Kerala
- Maharashtra : Akola district
- Odisha : All districts of Odisha
- Tamil Nadu : Coimbatore district, Dindigul district, Dharmapuri district, Kanchipuram (Changalpattu-CGP) district, Karur district, Krishnagiri district, Madurai district, Namakkal district, Pudukkottai district, Sivaganga district, Salem district, Tiruchirapalli district, Tiruvannamalai district, Villipuram district, Vellore district
World Distribution : India, Sub-tropical Himalayas, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China, Pakistan
Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2011 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 4; J.L.Ellis, 1990- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 2; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 2; 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 Similipahar (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; Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Raja K Swamy, Deepak Kumar, Arun Singh R. and K. Gopalakrishna Bhat (2019). Flora of Peninsular India. http://peninsula.ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Cryptolepis buchananii. Downloaded on 31 October 2025.