Bark
Smooth, greenish-brown stems that are prominently four-angled (quadrangular) and heavily swollen at the nodes, becoming woody at the base.
Strobilanthes ixiocephala
Syn. Thelepaepale ixiocephala
IUCN Red List
Not Evaluated
(NE)
Local name
- Sky Blue Karvy (English)
- Pit Karvi (Konkani)
- Venneelakkurinji (Tamil)
Shrub type
Evergreen
Deciduous
Family: Acanthaceae
1m
Indicated uses
Medicinal
Edible
Ornamental
Avenue
Other
Flowering & fruiting
Flowering
Fruiting
Key characters
Leaves
Simple, opposite, elliptic-lanceolate leaves (8–15 cm long) with roughly crenate margins, featuring rough surfaces heavily lined with mineral crystals called cystoliths.
Flower
Pale blue to white flowers arranged in dense, egg-shaped spikes at the ends of branches. The flower heads are covered in highly sticky, glandular hairs that emit a strong, characteristic scent.
Fruit / Seeds
Small, oblong, hairless capsules that turn woody and brown, splitting open to release four small, flat seeds.
Did you know?
The stigma exhibits touch-sensitive movement, curling backward upon insect contact to reduce self-pollination and promote cross-pollination.
Distribution
India to Bangladesh