Nelsonia canescens

Nelsonia canescens (Lam.) Spreng., Syst. Veg. 1: 42 1824. (Syn: Acanthodium spicatum Nees; Dianthera tomentosa Roxb. ex C.B.Clarke; Justicia bengalensis Spreng.; ; Justicia canescens Lam.; …; Justicia lamiifolia Roxb.; Justicia nummulariifolia Vahl; Justicia origanoides Vahl; Justicia pusilla Pohl ex Nees (Unresolved); Justicia tomentosa Roxb.; Justicia vestita Roem. & Schult.; Nelsonia albicans Kunth; Nelsonia brunelloides (Lam.) Kuntze; Nelsonia campestris R.Br.; Nelsonia campestris var. vestita (Roem. & Schult.) C.B. Clarke; Nelsonia canescens var. vestita (Roem. & Schult.) E. Hossain; Nelsonia hirsuta (Vahl) Roem. & Schult.; Nelsonia lamiifolia (Roxb.) Spreng.; Nelsonia origanoides (Vahl) Roem. & Schult.; Nelsonia pohlii NeesNelsonia rotundifolia R. Br.; Nelsonia senegalensis Oerst.; Nelsonia tomentosa A. Dietr.; Nelsonia villosa Oerst.; Origanum lanatum Bojer ex Nees; Rhaphidospora vestita G.Don (Unresolved); Ruellia eriostachya Bojer ex Nees (Unresolved); Zahlbrucknera repens Pohl ex Nees (Unresolved));
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Mauritania, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), D.R. Congo (Zaire), Bioko Isl. (Fernando Poo), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome, Principe Isl., Senegal, Gambia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, peninsular Malaysia (Perlis, Kedah, Penang Isl., Pahan), Cape Verde Isl. (Santo Antao Isl., Ilha de Sao Nicolau, Ilha de Sao Tiago), China (I), Andamans (Middle Andamans, South Andamans), Myanmar [Burma] (Bago, Yangon), Bhutan, Darjeeling, India (throughout), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Nepal, New Guinea (Papua New Guinea), Australia (Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland), Brazil (I), Puerto Rico (I), Mexico (I), Nicaragua (I), Costa Rica (I), French Guiana? (I), Ecuador (I), Panama (I), El Salvador (I), Colombia (I) (Atlntico (I), Crdoba (I)), Bolivia (I), Honduras (I) as per Catalogue of Life;
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¿ nel-SON-nee-uh ? — for David Nelson, English gardener and botanist, gardener at Kew … Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae
kan-ESS-kens — grey hair, greyish … Dave’s Botanary
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commonly known as: blue pussyleaf • Ahom: baghkaniya, udbhedeli • Bengali: পারামূল paramula • Hindi: बिजनोरी bijnori • Malayalam: കോടപ്പുല്ല് kodappullu, മയിൽ പുല്ല് mayil pullu, നീല പൂച്ചയില neela poochayila • Odia: ବର ରାସ୍ନା bada rasna • Santali: ᱡᱩᱜᱤᱴᱚᱯᱟ ᱵᱟᱦᱟ jugitopa baha

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Native to: tropical w Africa; naturalized elsewhere
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N.canescens (N.campestris)! The basal leaves are large and make a rosette which many a times dries out at the time of flowering.


Yes I also agreed with … ID. … this is Nelsonia canescens.


Thank you very much … The problem i faced is that FoC informs N. canescens (Lam.) Spreng. has entire leaf margin, but my plant has both, entire and serrated, attaching two more pics.
However, The Plant List equates N. campestris R. Br. with N. canescens (Lam.) Spreng. – http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-2380159.
A document that can’t be read without subscription –
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2629767.



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Nelsonia canescens (Lam.) Spreng. (?) from Assam : 3 posts by 3 authors. Attachments (8). 
Attached images may be Nelsonia canescens (Lam.) Spreng. Please validate
Date :20.01.2014
Location: Assam
Family : Acanthaceae
Genus & species : Nelsonia canescens (Lam.) Spreng(?)
Habitat: Grows wild on open field
Habit : Herb, prostrate 

Yes it IS.


Nelsonia canescens (Lam.) Spreng.
Nice to see the distinct streaks of purple within the petal lobes, which is quite rare in the populations I have seen so far. 


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Fwd: [efloraofindia:212720] Acanthaceae ID from Bangladesh SM 190- 3 : 1 post by 1 author. Attachments (1)
Habitat Wild 


Nelsonia canescens from …



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Acanthaceae Fortnight: Nelsonia canescens (Lam.) Spreng from Assam-KD 02 Mar 2015 : 3 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (3)
Attached images are Nelsonia canescens (Lam.) Spreng from Assam. 

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Nelsonia canescens (Lam.) Spreng.
along Chorla Ghat on February 18, 2012  

amazing what and how you see, … your habitat pictures are most educational
love it
wish every body took habitat pictures
that’s one most important thing for a national database if its to be useful
(along with gps data, which should be kept secret in case of scarce // endangered flora)
may be we should make a temporary lets say i month rule that no response to query if no habitat picture was included
that will make a habit for the truly interested people…



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Nelsonia canescens (Lam.) Spreng.
at Karnala Bird Sanctuary on February 12, 2010

Elegant pics as always….refreshing !!


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Please Identify : 11 posts by 5 authors. Attachments (1)

ID Please
Date 29-05-2016
Habitat: Open Forest
Elevation: 95 m
Maharajganj U.P.

Acanthaceae ??


Yes, Acanthaceae but I am unable to identify the species


try Tetramerium of acanthaceae family

very hairy acanthaceae, with even hairy leaves it seems from your picture.
my question to you AND PLEASE ANSWER fully to your ability 
how tall was this plant. haw many were there in the vicinity? is it wild or escaped from garden?
i have only seen one: Tetramerium nervosum at ucberkeley botanical garden. i dont have a pic handy but cal photo does
it resembles it but not quite 100%

… any possibility of Nelsonia sp. ?

6-10 cm tall. there were 7 plant in the vicinity. It is wild.

ok. the one i saw was about a bit more than a 10 to 12 inches tall.
… good idea. i looked up on the net and our cases don’t match
in length od inflorescence and color of flowers and the leaves. i am stumped. what now? may be … would know? our Pitamah …? please help

No, no, … I am just putting forth my guess.

Thanks, …, for the id.
After perusing comparative images at Acanthaceae‎, I also feel this is close to images at Nelsonia canescens (Lam.) Spreng.

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Satpura Tiger Reserve Hoshangabad M.P.- 27-2-09;  February 12, 2010 at Karnala Bird Sanctuary;Nelsonia canescens ???? – NSD 78 – efloraofindia | Google GroupsID: DV-12FEB10-1455 – efloraofindia | Google Groups

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Names of Plants in India :: Nelsonia canescens (Lam.) Spreng.: 1 image.
Nelsonia canescens (Lam.) Spreng

¿ nel-SON-nee-uh ? — for David Nelson, English gardener and botanist, gardener at Kew … Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae
kan-ESS-kens — grey hair, greyish … Dave’s Botanary

commonly known as: blue pussyleaf • Ahom: baghkaniya, udbhedeli • Bengali: পারামূল paramula • Hindi: बिजनोरी bijnori • Odia: ବର ରାସ୍ନା bada rasna • Santali: ᱡᱩᱜᱤᱴᱚᱯᱟ ᱵᱟᱦᱟ jugitopa baha

botanical namesNelsonia canescens (Lam.) Spreng. … homotypic synonymsJusticia canescens Lam. … heterotypic synonymsDianthera tomentosa Roxb. ex C.B.Clarke • Nelsonia campestris R.Br. … and more at POWO, retrieved 04 July 2025

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
blue pussyleaf
~~~~~ AHOM ~~~~~
written in: Ahom … mainly used by priests and scholars for religious and educational purposes; spoken in: erstwhile Ahom kingdom (some part in present day Assam) … other names for this language: Tai-Ahom
baghkaniya, udbhedeli
~~~~~ BENGALI ~~~~~
written in: Bengali (বাংলা) … spoken in: West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Tripura, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
পারামূল paramula
  • Many thanks to Jayantanath Sarkar for help with this name … facebook
~~~~~ HINDI ~~~~~
written in: Devanagari (हिन्दी) … spoken in: DelhiUttar PradeshBiharChhattisgarhHaryanaJharkhandMadhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand
बिजनोरी bijnori
~~~~~ ODIA ~~~~~
written in: Odia (ଓଡ଼ିଆ) … spoken in: Odisha, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
ବର ରାସ୍ନା bada rasna
~~~~~ SANTALI ~~~~~
written in: Ol Chiki (ᱥᱟᱱᱛᱟᱲᱤ), Bengali (সাঁওতালী), Odia (ସାନ୍ତାଳୀ), Devanagari (सान्ताली), Roman … spoken in: JharkhandWest Bengal, Odisha
ᱡᱩᱜᱤᱴᱚᱯᱟ ᱵᱟᱦᱟ jugitopa baha
~~~~~ DISTRIBUTION in INDIA ~~~~~
Andaman islands, *Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, *Bihar, *Gujarat, *Karnataka, *Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, *Maharashtra, *Manipur, *Meghalaya, *Mizoram, Odisha, *Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal

* no given name / no name found in the regional language(s) of the state
In all probability, this species has naturalized in India.

~~~~~ Created on: 19:52 03-07-2025 ¦ Last updated: 14:05 05-07-2025 (DD-MM-YYYY) ~~~~~
This species is known to be distributed (naturalized) in some parts of Nepal.
Please help with Nepali name, if any.


Malayalam names are നീല പൂച്ചയില Neela Poochayila (Neela means blue, Poocha means pussy or cat, yila is ela means leaf) മയിൽ പുല്ല് Mayil Pullu (Mayil means peacock, pullu means grass) കോടപ്പുല്ല് Kodappullu (Koda means mist, pullu means grass), all Malayalam names are derived as per it’s special hairy charector.
Malayalam names added …
commonly known as: blue pussyleaf • Ahom: baghkaniya, udbhedeli • Bengali: পারামূল paramula • Hindi: बिजनोरी bijnori • Malayalam: കോടപ്പുല്ല് kodappullu, മയിൽ പുല്ല് mayil pullu, നീല പൂച്ചയില neela poochayila • Odia: ବର ରାସ୍ନା bada rasna • Santali: ᱡᱩᱜᱤᱴᱚᱯᱟ ᱵᱟᱦᱟ jugitopa baha


 


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References:

The Plant List  GRIN  Annonated checklist of the flowering plants of Nepal  Flora of China Dinesh Valke’s Flickr Post  Flowers of India 

Updated on July 10, 2025