Pisonia aculeata L.

 
  • Family : NYCTAGINACEAE
    (Four-O'clock Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : BOOGANBEL FAMILY (बूगनबेल फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Nyctaginaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Pallavia aculeata (L.) Vell.; Pisonia aculeata var. guaranitica Chodat; Pisonia aculeata var. hirsutissima J.A.Schmidt; Pisonia aculeata var. typica Heimerl; Pisonia acuminata Mart. ex J.A.Schmidt; Pisonia anisophylla Hassk.; Pisonia comosa Choisy; Pisonia cordifolia Mart. ex J.A.Schmidt; Pisonia crenulata J.A.Schmidt; Pisonia elliptica J.A.Schmidt; Pisonia florida Choisy; Pisonia florida var. pabstiana Schltdl.; Pisonia georgina Wall.; Pisonia grandifolia Standl.; Pisonia helleri Standl.; Pisonia heterophylla Choisy; Pisonia laurifolia J.A.Schmidt; Pisonia limonella Blume; Pisonia loranthoides Kunth Pisonia minor Choisy; Pisonia mitis L.; Pisonia monotaxadenia C.Wright; Pisonia pallavia Steud.; Pisonia tellulata Huber; Pisonia uniseriata C.Wright Pisonia villosa Poir.; Pisonia yagua-pinda D.Parodi; Tragularia horrida J.Koenig ex Roxb.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Pisonia aculeata L.
  • Common name : West Indian cock's spur, Hairy Water Lily
  • Vernacular name :
    • Antuhannu gida (Kannada)
    • Marukalli, Selamaranjaan, Kodi kuttippadatthi (Tamil)
    • Karindhu, Kodimullaram (Malayalam)
    • Pisangi, Konki, Konkara patri, Emgudi (Telugu)
  • Habit : Climbing shrub
  • Habitat : Tropical semi-evergreen forests and dry deciduous forests, also in rocky islands
  • Comments / notes : Often on plains to 800m, in wastelands, and forest clearings. An aggressive colonizer on disturbed ground.
  • Flower, Fruit : March-April
  • Collector(s) Name : R. Raghavendra Rao
  • Collection Date : 02/07/1972
  • Collection Nos : R.R. Rao 1664
  • Collection Locality : Way to M.M. Hills from Kollegal, Chamarajanagar district (KA)
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Visakhapatnam district, Guntur district, Anantapur district, Chittoor district
    • Kerala : Kannur district, Wayanad district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district, Idukki district
    • Odisha : Ganjam district
    • Tamil Nadu : Madurai district, Namakkal district, Salem district, Tiruchirapalli district, Vellore district, Dindigul district, Dharmapuri district, Sivaganga district, Tiruvannamalai district
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands : North and Middle Andaman,South Andaman,Ritchie\'s Archipelago taluk (Havelock Island),Long Island
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Tropical America, Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, India, Myanmar, Indo-China, China, Hainan, Formosa, Malaysia
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 3
    • Sudhakar Reddy, C et al., 2009. Tree Wealth of Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India
    • 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.
    • Parkinson, C.E. 1923. A Forest Flora of the Andaman Islands, Govt. of India, Shimla: 222
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Pisonia aculeata
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Pisonia aculeata. Downloaded on 26 January 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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