Hamelia patens Jacq.

 
  • Family : RUBIACEAE
    (Madder Or Coffee Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : COFFEE FAMILY (कॉफी फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Rubiaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Duhamelia patens (Jacq.) Pers.; Lonicera verticillata (Mill.) Steud.; Periclymenum verticillatum Mill.; Duhamelia odorata Willd. ex Schult.; Duhamelia sphaerocarpa (Ruiz & Pav.) Pers.; Hamelia brachystemon Wernham; Hamelia brittoniana Wernham; Hamelia coccinea Sw.; Hamelia corymbosa Sessé & Moc.; Hamelia erecta Jacq.; Hamelia intermedia Urb. & Ekman; Hamelia lanuginosa M.Martens & Galeotti; Hamelia latifolia Rchb. ex DC.; Hamelia nodosa M.Martens & Galeotti; Hamelia ovata Wernham; Hamelia patens var. axillaroides Wernham; Hamelia patens var. erecta (Jacq.) DC.; Hamelia patens var. glabra Oerst.; Hamelia patens var. quinifolia DC.; Hamelia pedicellata Wernham; Hamelia sphaerocarpa Ruiz & Pav.; Hamelia suaveolens Kunth; Hamelia tubiflora Wernham; Hamelia verticillata Moc. & Sessé ex DC.; Hamelia viridifolia Wernham; Schoenleinia thyrsoidea Miers.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Hamelia patens Jacq.
  • Common name : Hummingbird Bush, Scarlet Bush, Fire Bush
  • Habit : Shrub or Tree
  • Comments / notes : Commonly planted in gardens as an ornament for its nectariferous flowers, which usually attract birds, butterflies and other insects
  • Key identification features : A large shrub. Leaves in whorls, elliptic-ovate. Flowers red, helicoid cyme.
  • Flower, Fruit : Throughout the year
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Srikakulam district
    • Karnataka : Bengaluru district,Udupi district,Dakshina Kannada district
    • Kerala : Kerala
    • Maharashtra : Pune district
    • Odisha : Odisha
    • Tamil Nadu : Tamil Nadu
    • Delhi : Delhi
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Native : Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Florida, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Ric
  • Exotic/Native : Exotic
  • World Distribution : Cultivated in most parts of the world.
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • 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
    • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
    • Ramaswamy & Razi, 1973 - Flora of Bangalore district, Karnataka state
    • Gopalakrishna Bhat, 2003 – Flora of Udupi District
    • Gopalakrishna Bhat, 2014 - Flora of South Kanara
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
    • N.P. Singh, P. Lakshminarasimhan, S. Karthikeyan & P. V. Prasanna (2001). Flora of Maharashtra state, Dicotyledones. Vol. 2. pp.173. Botanical survey of India, Govt. Of India.
  • Read more :
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2025). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Hamelia patens. Downloaded on 2 July 2025.

Botanical Description

Field Image(s)

India Distribution

World Distribution

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