Nicandra physalodes (L.) Gaertn.

 
  • Family : SOLANACEAE
    (Nightshade Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : BAINGAN FAMILY (बैंगन फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Solanaceae
  • Basionym : Atropa physalodes L.
  • Synonym(s) : Physalis daturifolia Lam.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Nicandra physalodes (L.) Gaertn.
  • Common name : Shoo-Fly Plant, Apple-of-Peru
  • Vernacular name :
    • Oomathan (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Herb
  • Habitat : All types of forests
  • Comments / notes : Weed; common on hills on fallow fields and agricultural lands
  • Flower, Fruit : July-February
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Anantapur district, Chittoor district, Y.S.R. Kadapa district, East Godavari district, Guntur district, Krishna district, Kurnool district, S.P.S. Nellore district, Prakasam district, Srikakulam district, Visakhapatnam district, Vizianagaram district, West Godavari district
    • Telangana : Nalgonda district, Khammam district, Mahbubnagar district
    • Karnataka : Ballari district, Kolar district, Chamarajanagara district
    • Kerala : Wayanad district, Palakkad district, Idukki district
    • Maharashtra : Satara district, Mumbai-City district, Mumbai Suburban district
    • Odisha : Angul district, Balasore district, Bargarh district, Balangir district, Boudh district, Cuttack district, Deogarh district, Dhenkanal district, Gajapati district, Ganjam district, Kalahandi district, Kandhamal district, Kendrapara district, Kendujhar district, Khordha district, Koraput district, Malkangiri district, Mayurbhanj district, Puri district, Rayagada district, Sambalpur district, Sundargarh district
    • Tamil Nadu : Coimbatore district, Dindigul district, Dharmapuri district, Kancheepuram (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
    • Madhya Pradesh : Hoshangabad district
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Native : Argentina, Bolivia, Chile Central, Chile North, Peru
  • Exotic/Native : Exotic
  • World Distribution : Argentina, Bolivia, Chile Central, Chile North, Peru
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Pullaiah et al., 2011 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 4
    • 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.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Nicandra physalodes
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2025). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Nicandra physalodes. Downloaded on 2 January 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

Creative Commons License
India Flora Online by Herbarium JCB is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.