Safed Phooli / Tiny Buttonweed
Borreria pusilla
Also known as Erect Buttonweed
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttarakhand
- Flowering
- July-February
How to identify Safed Phooli
Identify Safed Phooli 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.
- Confirm leaf surface: Hirsute (coarsely hairy).
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: July-February.
- In India, compare location records such as Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttarakhand.
- Confirm it sits within the Rubiaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Safed Phooli.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Borreria pusilla
- Genus
- Borreria
- Family
- Rubiaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Deciduous forests
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Distribution
- Tropical Africa, Madagascar, Tropical Asia to Japan and Malaysia
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- July-February
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- Hirsute (coarsely hairy)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Safed Phooli itself; the rest are typical of the Rubiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Berry
Characters marked “recorded” are for Safed Phooli itself; the rest are typical of the Rubiaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- सफेद फूली safed phooli
- Marathi
- तारकादळ tarakadal
- Telugu
- చుక్కకాడ tsukka-kada
About Safed Phooli
Tiny Buttonweed (Borreria pusilla) is a herb in the Rubiaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Rajasthan, Karnataka and Uttarakhand. It grows in deciduous forests. Flowering and fruiting run from July to February.
Rubiaceae
Coffee/Madder family
Safed Phooli belongs to the Rubiaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Rubiaceae 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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