Peganum harmala L.

 
  • Family : ZYGOPHYLLACEAE
    (Caltrop Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : GOKHARU FAMILY (गोखरू फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Zygophyllaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Mesembryanthemum caspicum S.G.Gmel.; Harmala multifida All.; Harmala peganum Crantz; Harmala syriaca Bubani; Peganum dauricum Pall.; Peganum rothschildianum Buxb.; Peganon harmalum (L.) St.-Lag.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Peganum harmala L.
  • Common name : Foreign Henna
  • Vernacular name :
    • Harmal, Isband Lahouri, Lahouri Harmal (Hindi)
  • Habit : Herb
  • Habitat : Slightly saline sands near oases, dry grasslands in desert areas; 400 - 3600 m. altitude
  • Comments / notes : This species is a noxious weed that has escaped often in desert areas around the world.
  • Flower, Fruit : May-November
  • Distribution :
    • Karnataka : Ballari district, Vijayapura (Bijapur) district
    • Maharashtra : Mumbai Suburban district, Konkan, Pune district
    • Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
    • Himachal Pradesh : Manali
    • Delhi : Delhi
    • Ladakh : Ladakh
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Punjab : Punjab
  • Native : Mediterranean to Mongolia and India
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Mediterranean to Mongolia, India and Cape Provinces, Colorado, France, Hungary, Nevada, New Mexico
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Saldanha, C. J. 1996. Flora of Karnataka vol. 2
    • N.P. Sing & S. Karthikeyan 2000. Flora of Maharashtra vol 1.
    • Uniyal B.P., Sharma J.R., Choudhery U., Singh D.K. (2007). Flowering Plants of Uttarakhand: A Checklist. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh: 89
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Peganum harmala
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Peganum harmala. Downloaded on 30 January 2026.

Botanical Description

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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