Herbarium JCB

Cardiospermum halicacabum L.

Family : SAPINDACEAE
(Soapberry Family)
Family (Hindi name) : REETHA FAMILY (रीठा फैमिली)
Family (as per The APG System III) : SAPINDACEAE
Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
Common name : Balloon-vine heart-seed, Heart's Pea, Balloon vine, Blister creeper, Heart's pea, Heart seed
Vernacular name : Kanphata, Kanphuti (Hindi); Bekkinabudde gida (Kannada); Modakkathan, Kottavan (Tamil); Budda kakara (Telugu); Phatka, Mayajaal, Sibjhol, Kanphuta (Oria); Jotishmati, Karavi, Parvatapadi (Sanskrit); Kapal-phodi (Marathi); Karavi, Karuthakunni, Paluruvam, Ulincha, Uzhinja, Valliuzhinja (Malayalam)
Habit : Climber
Habitat : Moist deciduous forests, also in scrub jungle and plains
Comments / notes : Common on the hedges
Key identification features : Tendril climber; capsule pyriform, inflated, winged at the angles
Flower, Fruit : July-February
Distribution :
- Andhra Pradesh : Chittoor district, East Godavari district, Kurnool district, Guntur district, Kadapa district, Vishakapatnam district, Srikakulam district, West Godavari district
- Kerala : All districts of Kerala
- Maharashtra : All districts of Maharashtra
- Odisha : All districts of Odisha
- Tamil Nadu : All districts of Tamil Nadu
World Distribution : India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Tropical and Sub-tropical America, Molucca
Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1; J.L.Ellis, 1987- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 1; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa 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; Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI; Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1; N.P. Sing & S. Karthikeyan 2000. Flora of Maharashtra vol 1. Botanical survey of India, Govt. India.
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=Cardiospermum halicacabum. Downloaded on 3 April 2025.