• Family : APOCYNACEAE
  (Dogbane Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : KARONDA FAMILY (करौंदा फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System III) : Apocynaceae
• Synonym(s) : Chonemorpha pubescens (Wall. ex G.Don) G.Don; Echites pubescens Buch.-Ham.; Elytropus pubescens (Wall. ex G.Don) Miers; Holarrhena antidysenterica var. pubescens (Wall. ex G.Don) J.L.Stewart & Brandis
• Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Holarrhena pubescens Wall. ex G.Don
• Common name : Kurchi, Tellicherry bark, Bitter Oleander, Easter Tree, Jasmine Tree, Coessi bark, Ivory tree
• Vernacular name :
  • Kurci, Kudha, Khurchi (Hindi)
  • Kodagasana (Kannada)
  • Kolamukki, Palavareni, Pala chettu, Tedlapala, Palankudu, Kodaga, Palakodishe, Istari-pala, Kodisipala (Telugu)
  • Kuthuppaalai (Tamil)
  • Kherwa, Pitakorwa, Patrukurwa, Kurmi, Kuda, Indrojabafalo, Indrajalo, Kure, Kurchi (Oria)
  • Kutajah, Kalinga (Sanskrit)
  • Kuda (Marathi)
  • Kadalapala, Kadavelapparintholi, Kudagapala (Malayalam)
• Habit : Tree
• Habitat : Tropical dry deciduous forests, Scrub
• Comments / notes : Occasional on hills above 750 m, on slopes. Extracts from the bark are used to cure dysentery and also to help increase appetite.
• Flower, Fruit : March-October
• Collector(s) Name : Raja K.Swamy; Cecil J. Saldanha; K.R.Keshava Murthy, K.P.Sreenath
• Collection Date : 14-09-2013, 11-06-1975, 19-12-1978
• Collection Nos : SKU 40414, SJC 18508, KFP 5071
• Collection Locality : Kalasamudram, Anantapur district (AP); Bannergatta state forest (BGL, KA); Narayanadurga state forest, Melkote, Mandya district
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : Chittoor district, Srikakulam district, West Godavari district, East Godavari district, Kurnool district, Kadapa district
  • Telangana : Nalgonda district
  • Karnataka : All districts of Karnataka
  • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
  • Maharashtra : Akola district
  • Odisha : Ganjam district, Mayurbhanj district
  • Tamil Nadu : Salem district, Dharmapuri district
  • Jharkhand :
  • Madhya Pradesh : Madhya Pradesh
  • Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
  • Sikkim : Sikkim
  • Himachal Pradesh : Himachal Pradesh
  • Arunachal Pradesh : Changlang, Kameng, Lohit
  • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
  • Assam : Assam
  • Nagaland : Nagaland
  • Delhi : Delhi
  • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Jammu and Kashmir : Jammu and Kashmir
  • Mizoram : Mizoram
  • Manipur : Manipur
  • Tripura : Tripura
• Native : Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Northern Provinces, Pakistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Vietnam, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe
• Exotic/Native : Native
• World Distribution : Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Northern Provinces, Pakistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Vietnam, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe
• Conservation Status : Least Concern (LC)
• Literature :
  • Pullaiah et al., 2011 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 4
  • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 2
  • R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
  • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1.
  • Sudhakar Reddy, C et al., 2009. Tree Wealth of Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India
  • N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka
  • J.L.Ellis, 1990- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 2
  • 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
  • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
  • Saldanha & Nicolson, 1976 – Flora of Hassan District
  • Gowda, 2004 - Sringeri
  • Ramaswamy & Razi, 1973 – Flora of Bangalore District
  • Seetharam et al., 2000 – Flora of Gulbarga district
  • Rao & Razi, 1981 – A Synoptic Flora of Mysore District
  • Keshava Murthy & Yoganarasimhan, 1990 – Flora of Coorg District
  • Gopalakrishna Bhat, 2003 – Flora of Udupi District
  • Manjunath et al., 2003 – Flora of Davanagere District
  • Kamble & Pradhan, 1988. Flora of Akola District, Maharashtra. Botanical Survey of India.
  • G.S Giri., A.Pramanik., H.J. Chowdhery., G.D Pal and S.K. Das (2008). Materials for Arunachal Pradesh, Vol (2), Pg: 154
  • Indigenous Plants at Biodiversity Park, Ranchi - Ranchi Afforestation Division, Forest and Environmental Department, Jharkhand
• 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=Holarrhena pubescens. Downloaded on 1 April 2025.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

Habitat

India Distribution

World Distribution