Shankhaphuli / Canscora
Canscora decussata
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand
- Flowering
- September-March
How to identify Shankhaphuli
Identify Shankhaphuli 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: Leaves in crossed (decussate) pairs.
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: September-March.
- In India, compare location records such as Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand.
- Confirm it sits within the Gentianaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Shankhaphuli.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Canscora decussata
- Genus
- Canscora
- Family
- Gentianaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Moist deciduous forests, also in plains and Shaded places
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Distribution
- India, Tropical Africa through Mascarene Islands to Southern and SE. Asia
- Found in India
- Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- September-March
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
Typical of the Gentianaceae family — a field-mark hint, not measured for this exact species.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Berry
Characters marked “recorded” are for Shankhaphuli itself; the rest are typical of the Gentianaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Bengali
- Dhankuni
- Hindi
- शंखफूली Shankhaphuli
- Kannada
- ಶಂಕಪುಶ್ಪ Shankapushpa
- Malayalam
- കംചന്കൊരാ Kanchankora, സംഖപുസ്പി Samkhapuspi, സംഖപുസ്പമ് Sankhupuspam
- Marathi
- Titavi, Yavotchi
- Nepali
- शंखपुश्पी Shankhapushpee, आँकुरीफूल Aankureephool, कंजनकोरा Kanjankora
- Tamil
- Tantorpalam
- Telugu
- Chitti Akchinata
- Urdu
- ﺷﻨﻜﮭﭙﮭﯘﻟﲐ Shankhaphuli
About Shankhaphuli
A member of the Gentianaceae family, Canscora (Canscora decussata) is a herb. In India it has been recorded in Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It grows in moist deciduous forests, also in plains and Shaded places. Flowering and fruiting run from September to March.
Gentianaceae
Gentian family
Shankhaphuli belongs to the Gentianaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Gentianaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Shankhaphuli 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