Calotropis gigantea (L.) W.T.Aiton

 
  • Family : ASCLEPIADACEAE
    (Milkweed Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : AAK FAMILY (आक फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Apocynaceae
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Calotropis gigantea (L.) W.T.Aiton
  • Common name : Giant Milk-Weed, Giant Swallow wort Madar Plant, Bowstring hemp, Crown Flower, Giant Calotrope
  • Vernacular name :
    • Madar, Akoa, Akond, Akona (Hindi)
    • Ekkada gida (Kannada)
    • Erukku, Arkkam, Yerikan, Yerukku (Tamil)
    • Tella jilledu, Racha jilledu, Jilledu (Telugu)
    • Arko, Urak, Akand (Oria)
    • Arka (Sanskrit)
    • Dinesam, Erikku, Erikkalachedi, Vella-erikku, Yerikku (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Shrub
  • Comments / notes : Occasional on plains to 1000m,by wayside, in wasteland. A ready colonizer by roads.
  • Key identification features : Large shrub; milky stem; Leaves oval, light green; Flower white or lavender; Fruit follicle.
  • Flower, Fruit : Throughout the year
  • Collector(s) Name : Borivali National Park, Maharashtra
  • Collection Date : NI 14
  • Collection Nos : N.A.Irani
  • 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
    • Telangana : Nalgonda district, Khammam district, Mehboobnagar district
    • Karnataka : Hassan district, Ballari district, Kolar district, Chamarajanagar district
    • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
    • Maharashtra : Thane district
    • Odisha : Angul district, Balasore district, Bargarh district, Bolangir district, Boudh district, Cuttack district, Deogarh district, Dhenkanal district, Gajapati district, Ganjam district, Kalhandi district, Kandhamal district, Kendrapara district, Keonjhar district, Khurda district, Koraput district, Malkangiri district, Mayurbhanj district, Puri district, Rayagada district, Sambalpur district, Sundergarh district, PLN
    • 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
    • Jharkhand :
    • Madhya Pradesh : Hoshangabad district
    • Sikkim : Sikkim
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Kameng
    • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
    • Assam : Assam
    • Nagaland : Nagaland
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Punjab : Punjab
    • Mizoram : Mizoram
    • Manipur : Manipur
    • Tripura : Tripura
    • Lakshadweep : Lakshadweep
  • Native : Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Hainan, India, Jawa, Lakshadweep Islands, Laos, Malaya, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Thailand, Vietnam
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Hainan, India, Jawa, Lakshadweep Islands, Laos, Malaya, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Thailand, Vietnam
  • 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.
    • G.S Giri., A.Pramanik., H.J. Chowdhery., G.D Pal and S.K. Das (2008). Materials for Arunachal Pradesh, Vol (2), Pg: 163
    • Indigenous Plants at Biodiversity Park, Ranchi - Ranchi Afforestation Division, Forest and Environmental Department, Jharkhand
  • Read more :
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Calotropis gigantea. Downloaded on 7 September 2024.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

India Distribution

World Distribution

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