Cajanus cajan (L.) Huth

 
  • Family : FABACEAE
    (Pea Or Bean Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : PALASH FAMILY (पलाश फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Fabaceae
  • Subfamily : Faboideae
  • Basionym : Cytisus cajan L.
  • Synonym(s) : Cajanus indicus Spreng.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.
  • Common name : Pigeon Pea, Congo Pea, Red gram
  • Vernacular name :
    • Arhar, Tur, Arhi (Hindi)
    • Thogari bele, Thogari gida (Kannada)
    • Thuvarai (Tamil)
    • Kandulu (Telugu)
    • Arhar, Kandul (Oria)
    • Adhaki (Sanskrit)
    • Adhaki, Kakshi, Thuvara, Thuvaraparippu (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Shrub
  • Habitat : Cultivated
  • Comments / notes : Mostly cultivated for their protein rich pods, sometimes as an escape
  • Key identification features : Erect srhub
  • Flower, Fruit : June-February
  • Distribution :
    • Kerala : Wayanad district, Kozhikode district, Malappuram district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district, Idukki district, Kottayam district, Alappuzha district, Pathanamthitta district, Kollam district
    • Maharashtra : Thane
    • Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
    • West Bengal : West Bengal
    • Himachal Pradesh : Himachal Pradesh
    • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
    • Assam : Assam
    • Nagaland : Nagaland
    • Delhi : Delhi
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Punjab : Punjab
    • Jammu and Kashmir : Jammu and Kashmir
    • Mizoram : Mizoram
    • Manipur : Manipur
    • Tripura : Tripura
  • Native : India
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : In Tropics
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
    • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1.
    • H J, Chowdhery, et al. Flora of Himachal Pradesh. Volume 1, Botanical Survey of India, 1984. Pg.: 190-191
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Cajanus cajan
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Cajanus cajan. Downloaded on 16 February 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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