Phyllanthus acidus (L.) Skeels

 
  • Family : EUPHORBIACEAE
    (Spurge Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : AMLA FAMILY (आँवला फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Phyllanthaceae
  • Basionym : Averrhoa acida L.
  • Synonym(s) : Phyllanthus distichus (L.) Müll.Arg.; Cicca acida (L.) Merr.; Cicca disticha L.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Phyllanthus acidus (L.) Skeels
  • Common name : Star Gooseberry, Grosella
  • Vernacular name :
    • Bombay nelli kai (Kannada)
    • Sirunelli, Aranelli (Tamil)
    • Ansokoli, Aura-koli, Bungarada, Narakoli (Oria)
    • Chalmeri (Hindi)
    • Usiri (Telugu)
    • Arinelli, Nakshatranelli, Nellipuli, Nellika-pouli, Pulinelli, Seemanelli (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Comments / notes : Often seen in plains and also cultivated. Fruits sour and edible, and rich in Vitamin C.
  • Flower, Fruit : Throughout the year
  • 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 : All districts of Kerala
    • 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
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Native : Brazil
  • Exotic/Native : Exotic
  • World Distribution : Tropics
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 3
    • Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (2). 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=Phyllanthus acidus
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Phyllanthus acidus. Downloaded on 30 January 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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