Benkara malabarica (Lam.) Tirveng.

 
  • Family : RUBIACEAE
    (Madder Or Coffee Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : COFFEE FAMILY (कॉफी फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Rubiaceae
  • Basionym : Randia malabarica Lam.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Benkara malabarica (Lam.) Tirveng.
  • Vernacular name :
    • Sanna kaare, Bili kaare mullu (Kannada)
    • Perumadhukarai, Sirukarai (Tamil)
    • Pedalli, Pedda malle (Telugu)
    • Phiriki (Oria)
    • Cholakara (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Shrub
  • Habitat : Tropical dry deciduous forests, scrub
  • Comments / notes : Common in dry evergreen and scrub forests of 600 to 1000m.
  • Key identification features : Flowers are very fragrant; fruits red when ripe
  • Flower, Fruit : February-November
  • Collector(s) Name : K. Sankara Rao, Arun Singh, Raja K. Swamy
  • Collection Date : 26/11/2014
  • Collection Nos : HJCB-0218
  • Collection Locality : Papavinasanam, Tirumala Hills, Chittoor district (AP)
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Visakhapatnam district, Y.S.R. Kadapa district, East Godavari district, West Godavari district, Srikakulam district
    • Karnataka : Kolar district
    • Kerala : Kozhikode district, Malappuram district, Thrissur district, Idukki district, Alappuzha district, Kollam district
    • Odisha : Koraput district, Ganjam district
  • Native : India
  • World Distribution : India, Sri Lanka
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Pullaiah et al., 2007 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 3
    • 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
    • N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka
    • 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
    • Nayar, T. S., et al, 2006. Flowering plants of Kerala, A hand book
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Benkara malabarica
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2025). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Benkara malabarica. Downloaded on 31 December 2025.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)

Habitat

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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