• Family : CAPPARACEAE
  (Caper Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : KARIL FAMILY (करील फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System III) : Capparaceae
• Synonym(s) : Capparis affinis Merr.; Capparis emarginata Zipp. ex Span.; Capparis emarginata C.Presl; Capparis flexicaulis Hance; Capparis glauca Wall. ex Hook.f. & Thomson; Capparis incanescens DC.; Capparis retusella Thwaites; Capparis trichopetala Valeton; Capparis umbellata R.Br. ex DC.
• Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Capparis sepiaria L.
• Common name : Wild Caper Bush
• Vernacular name :
  • Kanthari (Hindi)
  • Kadu katharai, Kathira mullu (Kannada)
  • Kattukkathiri, Thoratti, Karunjurai (Tamil)
  • Gulli chettu, Nallupi, Kallavuppi (Telugu)
  • Hudupi, Kanti kapali (Oria)
  • Kakdani (Sanskrit)
  • Kakkathondi (Malayalam)
  • Kanthtara, Pakra, Pachuda (Marathi)
• Habit : Climbing shrub
• Habitat : Scrub jungle and hilly areas of Tropical dry deciduous forests, also in tidal forests in Chilka
• Comments / notes : Common.
• Key identification features : A scandent shrub, armed with sharp black prickles, and with light green foliage. Leaves broad, elliptic to elliptic Ovate or lanceolate, blunt, has rounded, glabrous. Flowers in an axillary umbel, white, nearly in long. Fruit globose, black when ripe.
• Flower, Fruit : March-October
• Collector(s) Name : Raja K. Swamy & Arun Singh
• Collection Date : 13/09/2014
• Collection Nos : HJCB-E-0194
• Collection Locality : Melpatti-Toppur road, Tiruvannamalai district (TN)
• 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 : Ballari district, Chamarajanagar district, Kolar district, Kodagu (Coorg) district
  • Kerala : Palakkad district, Idukki district, Thiruvananthapuram district
  • Maharashtra : All districts in deciduous forests
  • 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
  • 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
  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands : North and Middle Andaman,South Andaman
• Exotic/Native : Native
• World Distribution : Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Hainan, Malesia, Indo-China and Australia
• 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
  • N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka
  • Franklin Benjamin & G.V.S.Murthy, 2013. Flora of Sri Venkateswara National Park, Andhra Pradesh, BSI.
  • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
  • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1
  • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
  • Parkinson, C.E. 1923. A Forest Flora of the Andaman Islands, Govt. of India, Shimla
  • 81
• Read more :
  • Plants of the World Online
  • World Flora Online
  • Global Plants on JSTOR
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Capparis sepiaria. Downloaded on 2 July 2024.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

India Distribution

World Distribution