Kakamari / Fish Berry
Anamirta cocculus
Also known as Crow Killer, Levant Berries
- Habit
- Liana
- Found in India
- Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu & more
- Flowering
- August-May
How to identify Kakamari
Identify Kakamari by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a liana habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Toxic seeds historically used as a fish poison.
- Confirm leaf shape: Ovate (egg-shaped, broad at base).
- Confirm leaf surface: Glabrous (smooth, hairless).
- Confirm fruit type: Drupe.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: August-May.
- In India, compare location records such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam and nearby regions.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Anamirta cocculus
- Genus
- Anamirta
- Family
- Menispermaceae
- Habit
- Liana
- Habitat
- Moist deciduous, Evergreen forests, also sacred groves in the plains
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Indo-China, Incl. Philippines and Newguinea
- Found in India
- Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Goa, Maharashtra, Puducherry, West Bengal
- Flowering & fruiting
- August-May
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- Ovate (egg-shaped, broad at base)recorded
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kakamari itself; the rest are typical of the Menispermaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Fruit type
- DruperecordedA fleshy fruit with a single hard stone/pit enclosing the seed.“the fruit produced is a drupe, "about 1 cm in diameter when dry".” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kakamari itself; the rest are typical of the Menispermaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- काकमारी Kakamari,काकमारी kakamari
- Tamil
- cantiropam, kakamari, kakanacam
- Kannada
- ಕಾಕಮಾರಿ Kaakamaari, ಕಾಕಿಸೊಪ್ಪುಗೆಡ್ಡೆ Kaakisoppugedde, ಕಾಗೆ ಮಾಂಬಳ್ಳಿ
- Malayalam
- anakrytu, anamrytu, garalaphala
- Marathi
- काकमारी kakmari, kaarvi, kadu-phal
About Kakamari
Fish Berry (Anamirta cocculus) is a woody climber in the Menispermaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and 5 other states. It grows in moist deciduous, Evergreen forests, also sacred groves in the plains. Flowering and fruiting run from August to May.
Uses
Locally it is used to deter insects. Parts of this plant are reported as poisonous — treat it as unsafe to eat and wash your hands after handling.
Menispermaceae
Moonseed Family
Kakamari belongs to the Menispermaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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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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