Sesamum indicum L.

 
  • Family : PEDALIACEAE
    (Pedalium Or Sesame Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : TIL FAMILY (तिल फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Pedaliaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Sesamum orientale L.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Sesamum indicum L.
  • Common name : Sesame, Gingelly Oil, Gingelly, Beniseed, Gingelly, Simsim
  • Vernacular name :
    • Tila (Sanskrit)
    • Til (Hindi)
    • Yellu (Kannada)
    • Yellu (Tamil)
    • Nuvvulu, Til nuvvulu (Telugu)
    • Khasa, Rasi, Rasa (Oria)
    • Ellu, Karuthellu, Yelluchedi (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Herb
  • Habitat : Cultivated
  • Comments / notes : A common cultivated plant for its oil, used commercially as the Gingelly oil, especially in temples for lighting lamps.
  • Key identification features : An erect annual, often branched, branches
  • Flower, Fruit : Throughout the year
  • Collector(s) Name : Raja K. Swamy
  • Collection Date : 12/09/2010
  • Collection Nos : FAP 41976; R.R.Rao 1086
  • Collection Locality : Gollalaguduru, Kadapa district (AP)
  • Distribution :
    • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
    • Maharashtra : Palghar (Vasai)
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Lohit, Subansiri, Tirap
    • Delhi : Delhi
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Punjab : Punjab
    • Rajasthan : Alwar district, Jaisalmer district, Barmer district, Bikaner district, Jodhpur district
  • Native : Bangladesh, India
  • World Distribution : Warmer regions of the world
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Ramaswamy & Razi, 1973 - Flora of Bangalore district, Karnataka state
    • Keshava Murthy & Yoganarasimhan, 1990 - Flora of Coorg district, Karnataka state
    • Seetharam et al., 2000 - Gulbarga
    • Gopalakrishna Bhat, 2003 - Udupi
    • Manjunath et al., 2003 - Davanagere
    • Gopalakrishna Bhat, 2014 - Flora of South Kanara
    • Pullaiah et al., 2011 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 4
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 2
    • 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.
    • G.S Giri., A.Pramanik., H.J. Chowdhery., G.D Pal and S.K. Das (2008). Materials for Arunachal Pradesh, Vol (2), Pg: 239
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Sesamum indicum
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Sesamum indicum. Downloaded on 17 February 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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