Jhinti / Porcupine Flower
Barleria prionitis subsp. prionitoides
- Habit
- Shrub
- Native to
- India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia
- Flowering
- August-March
How to identify Jhinti
Identify Jhinti by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a shrub habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Spine-tipped leaves and bracts.
- Confirm leaf surface: Glabrous (smooth, hairless).
- Confirm flower colour: Purple.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: August-March.
- Confirm it sits within the Acanthaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Jhinti.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Barleria prionitis subsp. prionitoides
- Genus
- Barleria
- Family
- Acanthaceae
- Habit
- Shrub
- Habitat
- Deciduous forests
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Native to
- India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia
- Flowering & fruiting
- August-March
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Jhinti 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 Jhinti itself; the rest are typical of the Acanthaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- झिण्टी jhinti, परुष parush, पीला पियाबांसा pila piyabansa
- Bengali
- কণ্টঝিন্টি kantajhinti, পীতঝিন্টি pitajhinti, কাঁটাজাটি
- Tamil
- செம்முள்ளி cem-mulli, கோரண்டம் korantam, கொடிப்பசலை koti-p-pacalai
- Telugu
- గోరంటచెట్టు gorantachettu, ముల్లుగోరంట mullu goranta, ముల్లుగోరింట
- Kannada
- ಹಳದಿ ಗೋರಟೆ haladi gorate, ಕುರಂಟಕ kurantaka, ಮದರಂಗಿ ಗಿಡ madarangi gida
- Malayalam
- ചെമ്മുള്ളി chemmulli, മന്ജകനകമ്ബരമ് Manjakanakambaram, മഞ്ഞക്കനകാംബരം mannakkanakambaram
- Marathi
- कोळिता kolita, पिवळी कोरांटी pivali koranti, पिवळी कोरांटी
About Jhinti
Porcupine Flower (Barleria prionitis subsp. prionitoides) belongs to the Acanthaceae family, where it grows as a shrub. It is native to India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia. It grows in deciduous forests. Flowering and fruiting run from August to March.
Acanthaceae
Acanthus family
Jhinti 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 Jhinti 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