Polpola
Aerva lanata
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh & more
- Flowering
- August-January
How to identify Polpola
Identify Polpola by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a herb habit.
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Alternate.
- Confirm leaf shape: Simple oval/lance-shaped.
- Confirm flower arrangement: Spike (stalkless flowers along a stem).
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: August-January.
- In India, compare location records such as Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Amaranthaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Polpola.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Aerva lanata
- Genus
- Aerva
- Family
- Amaranthaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Distribution
- Tropics of the World
- Found in India
- Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- August-January
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- AlternaterecordedOne leaf per node, arranged in a spiral or zigzag up the stem.“The often stalkless leaves are alternate, oval and 0.5 to 1.5 in (13 to 38 mm) long.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf shape
- Simple oval/lance-shapedrecorded
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Polpola itself; the rest are typical of the Amaranthaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower arrangement
- Spike (stalkless flowers along a stem)recorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Spike
- Fruit
- Achene
Characters marked “recorded” are for Polpola itself; the rest are typical of the Amaranthaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Tamil
- பூளை
- Telugu
- పిండిదొండ
- Malayalam
- ചെറൂള, ബലിപ്പൂവ്, Aerva Lanata
About Polpola
Polpola (Aerva lanata) is a herb in the Amaranthaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and 7 other states. Flowering and fruiting run from August to January.
Uses
Locally it is grown for parts that are eaten and long used in traditional medicine. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice.
In culture
It is treated as sacred and appears in worship.
Amaranthaceae
Amaranth family
Polpola belongs to the Amaranthaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Amaranthaceae familySnap it. Know it.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
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