Wild Plants – 2

Mesosphaerum suaveolens

Family: Lamiaceae
Common name: American mint, Bush mint, Hyptis suaveolens, Horehound, Pignut, Chan, Stinking roger
American mint, for all its fancy name, is a weed seen in all empty plots, roadsides and hillsides in India. Read more >>

Scoparia dulcis

Family: Plantaginaceae
Common name: Sweet broom weed, Licorice weed, Goatweed, Kallurukki
One of the most common weeds seen in backyards, gardens, roadsides and riversides in Kerala, Sweet broom weed has many medicinal uses. Read more >>

Argemone mexicana

Family: Papaveraceae
Common name: Mexican poppy, Mexican prickly poppy, Yellow poppy
It is difficult to miss this bluish-green, beautiful, but extremely prickly Mexical poppy plants growing in open areas and disturbed soil. Read more >>

Synedrella nodiflora

Family: Asteraceae
Common name: Nodeweed, Cinderella weed, Pig grass
Nodeweed is a very commonly seen wild plant in India, found on roadsides, hillsides, vacant plots, open areas and almost anywhere. Read more >>

Ipomoea cairica

Family: Convolvulaceae
Common name: Coastal morning glory, Railway creeper, Mile-a-minute vine, Coast morning glory
Another beautiful morning glory that grows proliferously in the wild, Coastal morning glory plants are also grown in gardens. Read more >>

Euphorbia hypericifolia

Family: Euphorbiaceae
Common name: Graceful spurge, Baby’s breath euphorbia, Graceful sandmat, Large spotted spurge
Graceful spurge plants are seen very commonly in the wild, in grassy areas, garden, agricultural land, open areas and almost anywhere. Read more >>

Oxalis corniculata

Family: Oxalidaceae
Common name: Creeping Woodsorrel, Sleeping beauty, Procumbent yellow sorrel
It is very easy to find Creeping Woodsorrel plants in home gardens, manicured lawns, open areas and roadsides. Read more >>

Persicaria glabra

Family: Polygonaceae
Common name: Denseflower knotweed, Common marsh buckwheat, Smooth smartweed
Seen very commonly near lakes and rivers, Denseflower knotweed plants are distinguished by their pink and red inflorescence. Read more >>

Sida acuta

Family: Malvaceae
Common name: Common wireweed, Morning mallow, Broom grass
It’s not possible to miss these sturdy, long-lived Common wireweed plants with their pretty yellow flowers, growing in the wild in tropical countries. Read more >>

Cleome rutidosperma

Family: Cleomaceae
Common name: Fringed spider flower, Purple cleome
A small herb with erect stems and beautiful purple or blue flowers, Fringed spider flowers are very commonly seen in backyards and open areas. Read more >>

Phyllanthus reticulatus

Family: Phyllanthaceae
Common name: Black-honey shrub, Reticulated leaf-flower
A simple, quick-growing shrub or small tree, Black honey shrub is very commonly seen on roadsides, wastelands, hillsides, and empty plots. Read more >>

Solanum erianthum

Family: Solanaceae
Common name: Potatotree, Big eggplant, Tobacco tree, Nightshade, Flannel bush, Wild tobacco
A shrub or small tree, Potatotrees are seen in the wild in empty plots, open areas, and roadsides in India. Read more >>

Sinapis arvensis

Family: Brassicaceae
Common name: Wild mustard, Charlock mustard, Field mustard, Charlock, Corn charlock
Small plants found on roadsides, empty plots and open areas, Wild mustard plants closely resemble mustard in their leaves and flowers. Read more >>

Flueggea virosa

Family: Phyllanthaceae
Common name: White berry bush, Common bushweed
A very unassuming bush with simple leaves, flowers, and fruits, White berry bushes have many medicinal uses in Ayurveda and herbal medicine. Read more >>

Datura innoxia

Family: Solanaceae
Common name: Downy thorn-apple, Pricklyburr, Indian-apple
Downy thorn-apples are difficult to miss even if they grow in the wild, because of their beautiful white trumpet-like flowers and green thorny fruits. Read more >>

Croton bonplandianus

Family: Euphorbiaceae
Common name: Three-leaved caper, Ban Tulsi, Bonpland’s croton
Ban Tulsi plants are seen very commonly on roadsides and open areas, with dark green leaves and white flowers on tall racemes. Read more >>

Clerodendrum japonicum

Family: Lamiaceae
Common name: Japanese glory bower, Glorybower, Red glory bower, Bag flower
Japanese glory bower flowers are so beautiful, it is surprising that they are not grown as ornamental plants in home gardens. Read more >>

Alternanthera philoxeroides

Family: Amaranthaceae
Common name: Alligator weed
One of the most invasive weeds that can grow on land and in water, Alligator weeds propagate very easily through fragments of stem. Read more >>

Acrostichum aureum

Family: Pteridaceae
Common name: Golden leather fern, Swamp fern, Mangrove fern
These large pre-historic looking Golden leather ferns grown near swamps, marshes, salt-water bodies, river banks and mangroves. Read more >>

Leea indica

Family: Vitaceae
Common name: Bandicoot berry
A healthy, bushy plant commonly seen in the wild in Kerala, Bandicoot berries are also grown for their medicinal and ornamental properties. Read more >>

Acanthus ilicifolius

Family: Acanthaceae
Common name: Sea holly, Holly-leaved acanthus, Holly mangrove
Sea holly plants are commonly seen near marshes, back waters, rivers and swamps even in areas with very high salinity. Read more >>

Grona triflora

Family: Fabaceae
Common name: Creeping tick trefoil, Three-flower tick trefoil, Tropical trefoil, Three-flower beggarweed
Creeping tick trefoil plants look like an old gentleman with white streaks running through their leaves, and white hairs covering the stem. Read more >>

Adiantum capillus-veneris

Family: Pteridaceae
Common name: Southern maidenhair fern, True maidenhair, Black maidenhair fern, Maidenhair fern, Venus hair fern
The lovely green Maidenhair ferns grow on limestone walls in Kerala, the southernmost state of India in abundance during rainy season. Read more >>

Erigeron sumatrensis

Family: Asteraceae
Common name: Fleabane, Tall fleabane, White horseweed, Sumantran fleabane, Guernsey fleabane
Fleabane is a pesky, persistent weed seen in open areas, undisturbed land, roadsides, hillsides and almost anywhere. Read more >>

Kyllinga nemoralis

Family: Cyperaceae
Common name: White Kyllinga, White-flowered Kyllinga, White water sedge, Whitehead spikesedge
White Kyllinga is a small clump-forming wild plant seen in backyards, open areas, meadows, agricultural land, and roadsides all over India. Read more >>

Kyllinga polyphylla

Family: Cyperaceae
Common name: Greater Kyllinga, Navua Sedge
Greater Kyllinga plants can be distinguished from other Kyllinga plants by their larger size of leaves, inflorescence and leaf bracts. Read more >>

Commelina diffusa

Family: Commelinaceae
Common name: Climbing dayflower, Spreading dayflower, Creeping dayflower
Climbing dayflower plants are one of the most commonly seen wild plants in tropical countries, spreading very quickly provided there is good rainfall and sunlight. Read more >>

Crassocephalum crepidioides

Family: Asteraceae
Common name: Red flower ragweed, Thickhead, Ebolo, Redflower ragleaf, Fireweed, Okinawa Spinach
A very commonly seen weed plant in India, Red flower ragweeds are common on farm lands, waste lands, roadsides, open areas and almost anywhere. Read more >>

Stenochlaena palustris

Family: Blechnaceae
Common name: Climbing fern
Climbing fern look like the climbed out of a history books that shows plants that adorned the earth thousands of years ago. The plants can grow to a height of over 20 meters, with their stems clinging to the surrounding vegetation. Read more >>

Cyanotis cristata

Family: Commelinaceae
Common name: Crested Cat Ears, Crested Dew-Grass
Crested Cat Ears plants are very common in India, seen in backyards, open areas, roadsides, agricultural areas, and almost anywhere. Read more >>