Latkan / Lipstick Tree
Bixa orellana
Also known as Butter-Seed Tree, Arnatto Tree
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra & more
- Flowering
- June-February
How to identify Latkan
Identify Latkan by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a tree habit.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: June-February.
- In India, compare location records such as Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Bixaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Latkan.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Bixa orellana
- Genus
- Bixa
- Family
- Bixaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Cultivated
- Habitat type
- Cultivated
- Native to
- Tropical America
- Distribution
- Tropics of the World
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Mizoram, Telangana, Gujarat, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Goa, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Manipur, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- June-February
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Local Names
- Hindi
- लटकन Latkan,लटकन latakan
- Bengali
- Latkan, দইগোটা
- Tamil
- Sappiravirai, வருகமஞ்சள்
- Telugu
- జాఫ్రా
- Kannada
- ರಂಗುಮಾಲೆ Rangumaale, ರಂಗಮಲರ್ Ranga malar, ಅರನಟ್ಟು Aranattu
- Malayalam
- Kurannumannal, കുരങ്ങുമഞ്ഞൾ, Achiote
- Marathi
- सेंदरी Sendri, शेंदरी, केसरी
About Latkan
A member of the Bixaceae family, Lipstick Tree (Bixa orellana) is a tree. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and 19 other states. It is cultivated. Flowering and fruiting run from June to February.
Uses
In practice it is grown for parts that are eaten.
Bixaceae
Bixa Or Achioty Family
Latkan belongs to the Bixaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Bixaceae 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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