Plumbago indica L.

 
  • Family : PLUMBAGINACEAE
    (Leadwort Or The Plumbago Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : CHITRAK FAMILY (चित्रक फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Plumbaginaceae
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Plumbago indica L.
  • Common name : Rosy flowered Leadwort, Fire plant, Chitrakmool, Radix Plumbago, Scarlett Leadwort
  • Vernacular name :
    • Lal Chitra, Rakthchitra, Chitra (Hindi)
    • Kempuchitamool (Kannada)
    • Errachitramulam, Agnimala (Telugu)
    • Rango Chitaparu, Chintamani, Rakto chitaparu, Lal Chita (Oria)
    • Chitraka, Dahanah (Sanskrit)
    • Chethikoduveli, Chivappu-koduveli, Chuvana-koduveli, Koduveli (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Undershrub
  • Comments / notes : Cultivated or found as an escape. Root is used as abortifacient by the tribals
  • Flower, Fruit : September-March
  • Distribution :
    • Telangana : Nalgonda district, Khammam district, Mahbubnagar district
    • Karnataka : Bangalore
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Native : Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Bhutan, Hainan, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Maluku, Philippines, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam
  • World Distribution : Old World Tropics
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Pullaiah et al., 2011 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 4
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 2
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Plumbago indica
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Plumbago indica. Downloaded on 13 February 2026.

Botanical Description

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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