Neptunia oleracea Loureiro

 
  • Family : MIMOSACEAE
    (Pea Or Bean Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : BABOOL FAMILY (बबूल फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Fabaceae
  • Subfamily : Mimosoideae
  • Basionym : Mimosa prostrata Lam.
  • Synonym(s) : Desmanthus natans Willd.; Mimosa natans Roxb.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Neptunia oleracea Lour.
  • Common name : Sensitive water plant
  • Vernacular name :
    • Lajjalu (Hindi)
    • Nidrayam (Kannada)
    • Sadai, Sundaikeerai (Tamil)
    • Niru thalavapu, Nidrayam (Telugu)
    • Alambusha (Sanskrit)
    • Neerthottavadi, Neettithottavadi (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Herb
  • Habitat : In stagnant water
  • Comments / notes : In still waters on plains, sometimes gregarious; branches float on water
  • Key identification features : Aquatic annual herb, having radical fibres at the nodes and spongy floats on the internodes
  • Flower, Fruit : January-November (WG)
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Chittoor district, West Godavari district, Srikakulam district
    • Kerala : Kannur district, Palakkad district, Alappuzha district
    • Odisha : Gajapati district, Ganjam district, Cuttack district
    • Tamil Nadu : All districts of Tamil Nadu
    • West Bengal : Hooghly, Howrah, 24-Parganas
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • World Distribution : Tropics of the World
  • Conservation Status : Least Concern (LC)
  • Literature :
    • Pullaiah et al., 2001 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 2
    • 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
    • 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
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Neptunia oleracea
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Neptunia oleracea. Downloaded on 12 February 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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