Lajalu / Little Tree Plant
Biophytum sensitivum
Also known as Sensitive Plant
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Lajalu
Identify Lajalu 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.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Leaflets fold up when touched, like a tiny mimosa.
- Confirm leaf type: Pinnately compound (leaflets in rows along a stalk).
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Oxalidaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Lajalu.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Biophytum sensitivum
- Genus
- Biophytum
- Family
- Oxalidaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Moist shaded places in deciduous forests
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Native to
- Indo-Malaysia
- Distribution
- Indo-Malayan
- Found in India
- Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Goa, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf type
- Pinnately compound (leaflets in rows along a stalk)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Lajalu itself; the rest are typical of the Oxalidaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Fruit
- Berry
Typical of the Oxalidaceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.
Local Names
- Hindi
- लजालू Lajalu
- Nepali
- लजिया झ्याङं Lajaiya jhyang
- Bengali
- ঝলৈ Jhalai
- Tamil
- Tintanali
- Kannada
- ಹೊರಮುನಿ Horamuni, ಹೊರಮುಚಕ Horamuchaka, ಹೊರಮುಚ್ಚುಗ Horamucchuga
- Malayalam
- മുക്കുട്ടീ Mukkutti, മുക്കുറ്റി, Biophytum sensitivum
- Marathi
- झरेरा Jharera, लाजवंती Lajvanti
About Lajalu
Little Tree Plant (Biophytum sensitivum) is a herb in the Oxalidaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and 15 other states. It grows in moist shaded places in deciduous forests. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Oxalidaceae
Wood sorrel family
Lajalu belongs to the Oxalidaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Oxalidaceae 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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