Strobilanthes wightiana

Strobilanthes wightiana Nees Pl. Asiat. Rar. 3: 86 (1832) (syn: Nilgirianthus wightianus (Nees) Bremek.);
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India (Orissa, SW Ghats (Kerala, Tamil Nadu)) as per Catalogue of Life;
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stroh-bil-AN-theez — cone flower … Dave’s Botanary
wight-ee-AY-na — named for Robert Wight, Scottish surgeon and botanist in India … Dave’s Botanary • Wikipedia
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commonly known as: pale kurinji
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Shrubs; branches hirtus. Leaves 7 x 4 cm, ovate, acuminate, serrate, densely hirtus; nerves 4 pairs; petiole 2-3 cm long. Spikes 1.5 x 2.5 cm, obconical; peduncle 2-6 cm long; involucral bracts 2-4, leafy, 1-3 x 1.5 cm; floral bracts densely hairy at base; bracteoles linear. Flowers few; sepals 10 mm long, hairy, united below the middle; corolla 2 cm long, pale blue, tube 5 mm long, villous inside. Capsule 9 x 3 mm, glabrous; seeds 3 x 3 mm, orbicular, glabrous, oblique at base.

Flowering and fruiting: November-March
Evergreen and semi-evergreen forests
Southern Western Ghats (Endemic)
(Attributions- Dr. N Sasidharan (Dr. B P Pal Fellow), Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi  from India Biodiversity Portal)
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Images by N. Muthu Karthick (Identified by C. Kunhikannan) (Inserted by J.M.Garg)

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Acanthaceae Fortnight :: Strobilanthus wightianus :: MK MAR 008 : 4 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (6)
Name: Strobilanthes wightianus Nees
Family: Acanthaceae
Habit: shrub
Height: 1-1.5 m
Location: Mukruthi National Park, Nilgiris
Alt.: 2250 m asl
Date: 12 Oct 2012
Dear all, is my ID right?

For me the ID is perfect. The colour of the all other photos  is different from first photograph.
Is it due to fading?

Yes it is S.wightianus


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Nilgiris: Strobilanthus for identification 301012MK01:

Please help me to identify this Acanthaceae plant. The growth is gregarious and commonly seen underneath the shadow of shola trees. Both purple and orange coloured flower varieties are observed.
Leaf: 5 x 4cm; leathery hirsute
Flower: 2.5cm across
Date: 10 Oct 2012
Place: Mukruthi National Park, TN
Alt.: 2350 m asl

Same as in Acanthaceae Fortnight :: Strobilanthus wightianus :: MK MAR 008 i.e. Strobilanthes wightiana Nees



Please help me to identify this Strobilanthus sp. growing gregariously on roadsides in grasslands.
Place: Mukruthi NP, Nilgiris
Alt.: 2350 m asl
Date: 14 Oct 2012


Strobilanthes species in India & eFIoraofindia with details & some keys


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Strobilanthus sp SN 7317 : 7 posts by 5 authors. Attachments (1)- 1 mb.
Wild prostrate herb from Western Ghat area


Appears to be same as at Nilgiris: Strobilanthus for identification 301012MK01


Does it look like Strobilanthes reticulatus Stapf ???
By the way there are many new species from the WG but images are not available in the net and could not access journal and most of them are not reflected in the POWO,GBF and CoL for herbarium verification !

Seems to be Strobilanthes wightianus.


Yes, it is Strobilanthes wightianus


I think this is Strobilanthes wightiana Nees but I should emphasise that I don’t know the South Indian species so well. Note it is wightiana, NOT wightianus as in many books.


I don’t know the South Indian species very well and am less confident in naming them but this might be Strobilanthes homotropa Nees (=S. sexennis var homotropa).


Looks different from Strobilanthes homotropa as per GBIF.


Pl check for Strobilanthes wightianus


Yes, matches as per images at Strobilanthes wightiana


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Names of Plants in India :: Strobilanthes wightiana Nees: 1 image.
Strobilanthes wightiana Nees

stroh-bil-AN-theez — cone flower … Dave’s Botanary
wight-ee-AY-na — named for Robert Wight, Scottish surgeon and botanist in India … Dave’s Botanary • Wikipedia

commonly known as: pale kurinji

botanical namesStrobilanthes wightiana Nees … homotypic synonymsNilgirianthus wightianus (Nees) Bremek. … POWO, retrieved 23 September 2025

NOTEStrobilanthes wightiana is the currently accepted scientific name for the plant; Strobilanthes wightianus is now treated as an orthographic variant.

Bibliography / etymology
Links listed as references in the notes below, may not remain valid permanently. Portals / websites have a tendency to re-organize / revise their content, leading to change in URLs of pages in their site. Some sites may even close down at their own will. The bits about the languages of India mentioned below are merely some bare facts gathered from the internet; just enough to satisfy curiosity about “where” could the listed names be best prevalent in India. All English transliterated names to be taken sensu amplo.

~~~~~ ENGLISH ~~~~~
written and spoken widely, in most parts of India
pale kurinji
  • for want of name, name coined by Flowers of India, retrieved September 23, 2025
~~~~~ DISTRIBUTION in INDIA ~~~~~
*Kerala, *Odisha, *Tamil Nadu

* no given name / no name found in the regional language(s) of the state

~~~~~ Created on: 16:42 23-09-2025 ¦ Last updated: 18:19 23-09-2025 (DD-MM-YYYY) ~~~~~

References:
Updated on October 6, 2025

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