Ghav Bel / Elephant Creeper
Argyreia nervosa
Also known as Woolly Morning Glory
- Habit
- Climbing shrub
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh & more
- Flowering
- December-June
How to identify Ghav Bel
Identify Ghav Bel by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a climbing shrub habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Large leaves silvery-woolly beneath (elephant creeper).
- Confirm leaf shape: Cordate (heart-shaped).
- Confirm flower colour: Pink.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: December-June.
- In India, compare location records such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Convolvulaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Ghav Bel.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Argyreia nervosa
- Genus
- Argyreia
- Family
- Convolvulaceae
- Habit
- Climbing shrub
- Distribution
- Cultivated in tropical countries
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Odisha, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- December-June
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- Cordate (heart-shaped)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Ghav Bel itself; the rest are typical of the Convolvulaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Pinkrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Ghav Bel itself; the rest are typical of the Convolvulaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- घाव बेल ghav bel, समुद्रसोख samudrasokh, समुन्दर का पट samundar ka pat
- Nepali
- समुद्रफल samudraphal
- Bengali
- আবেগী abegi, অযান্ত্রী ayantri, বীজতাড়ক bijataraka
- Tamil
- ஆகாயப்பூரிதம் akaya-p-puritam, அன்பகர் anpakar, கடற்பாலை katar-palai
- Telugu
- చంద్రపొద chandrapoda, సముద్రపచ్చ samudra-pachcha, సముద్రపాల samudrapala
- Kannada
- ಚಂದ್ರಪಾದ chandrapaada, ಮುಸುಟೆ musute, ಸಮುದ್ರ ಬಳ್ಳಿ samudra balli
- Malayalam
- പെരുംകുരുമ്പ perunkurumpa, സമുദ്രജോഗം samudra-tsjogam, സാമുദ്രപ്പച്ച samudrappachcha
- Marathi
- गुग्गुळी gugguli, समुद्रशोक samudrashok, वरधारा varadhara, समुद्रशोक
About Ghav Bel
Elephant Creeper (Argyreia nervosa) belongs to the Convolvulaceae family, where it grows as a climbing shrub. In India it has been recorded in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and 13 other states. Flowering and fruiting run from December to June.
Uses
It is 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 and turns up in ritual and festival use.
Convolvulaceae
Morning glory family
Ghav Bel belongs to the Convolvulaceae 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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