Vajradanti / Night-Blooming Bush-Violet
Barleria noctiflora
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Kerala
- Flowering
- July-February
How to identify Vajradanti
Identify Vajradanti by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a undershrub habit.
- Confirm leaf surface: Glabrous (smooth, hairless).
- Confirm flower colour: Purple.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: July-February.
- In India, compare location records such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala.
- Confirm it sits within the Acanthaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Vajradanti.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Barleria noctiflora
- Genus
- Barleria
- Family
- Acanthaceae
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Habitat
- Dry land and scrub jungles
- Habitat type
- Scrub
- Native to
- India
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Kerala
- Flowering & fruiting
- July-February
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Vajradanti itself; the rest are typical of the Acanthaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- PurplerecordedPurple or violet
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Spike
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Vajradanti itself; the rest are typical of the Acanthaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- वज्रदन्ती Vajradanti
About Vajradanti
Night-Blooming Bush-Violet (Barleria noctiflora) belongs to the Acanthaceae family, where it grows as a low shrub. In India it has been recorded in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It grows in dry land and scrub jungles. Flowering and fruiting run from July to February.
Acanthaceae
Acanthus family
Vajradanti belongs to the Acanthaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Acanthaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Vajradanti or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
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.
All plant problem & care guides