Oldenlandia umbellata L.

 
  • Family : RUBIACEAE
    (Madder Or Coffee Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : COFFEE FAMILY (कॉफी फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : RUBIACEAE
  • Synonym(s) : Hedyotis puberula (G. Don) Arn.; Oldenlandia puberula G.Don; Hedyotis brevicalyx Sivar., Biju & P.Mathew; Hedyotis wightii (Hook.f.) K.K.N.Nair; Oldenlandia wightii Hook.f.
  • Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Oldenlandia umbellata L.
  • Common name : Dye Root, Chay Root
  • Vernacular name : Chirval (Hindi); Saayavaer (Tamil); Cheriveru (Telugu); Surbuli (Oria); Chayaveru (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Herb
  • Habitat : Dry and moist deciduous forests, also in the plains
  • Comments / notes : Source of a red dye; occassional weed of wastelands
  • Key identification features : A stiff herb, anuual; stems more or less woody at the base. Leaves sessile, often fascicled, linear to lanceolate, acute. Flowers lilac, heterostylous. Capsule 2 mm across, ovoid to globose
  • Flower, Fruit : August-May
  • Collection Nos : HFP 144, CJS 11918
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Kurnool district, Srikakulam district, West Godavari district, East Godavari district, Anantapur district
    • Karnataka : Kolar district, Ballari district, Dakshina Kannada district, Hassan district
    • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
    • Odisha : Ganjam district, Cuttack district, Puri district, Balasore district
    • Tamil Nadu : Dharmapuri district
  • World Distribution : India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature : Saldanha & Nicolson, 1976 - Flora of Hassan district, Karnataka; N.P.Singh, 1988- Flora of Eastern Karnataka; Gopalakrishna Bhat, 2014 - Flora of South Kanara; Pullaiah et al., 2007 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 3; J.L.Ellis, 1987- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 1; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 2; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District; Matthew, K.M., 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=Oldenlandia umbellata. Downloaded on 3 July 2025.

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