Chenilam Badukka / Malabar Caper
Capparis rheedei
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka & more
- Flowering
- February-June
How to identify Chenilam Badukka
Identify Chenilam Badukka 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.
- Confirm leaf shape: Simple oval/round.
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- Confirm flower arrangement: Raceme.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: February-June.
- In India, compare location records such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa.
- Confirm it sits within the Capparaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Chenilam Badukka.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Capparis rheedei
- Genus
- Capparis
- Family
- Capparaceae
- Habit
- Shrub
- Habitat
- Semi-Evergreen forests
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Found in India
- Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa
- Flowering & fruiting
- February-June
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (NT)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- Simple oval/roundrecorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Chenilam Badukka itself; the rest are typical of the Capparaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
- Flower arrangement
- RacemerecordedIndividual stalked flowers arranged along a central stem, opening from bottom to top.“Flowers are showy, white to lilac, sometimes with bluish wings, measuring 3–5 cm across, and usually occur singly in the or occasionally in condensed racemes.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Raceme
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Chenilam Badukka itself; the rest are typical of the Capparaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Malayalam
- Chenilam Badukka, Kakkamullu, Kanakkareeram
About Chenilam Badukka
Malabar Caper (Capparis rheedei) belongs to the Capparaceae family, where it grows as a shrub. In India it has been recorded in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and 1 other states. It grows in semi-Evergreen forests. Flowering and fruiting run from February to June.
Capparaceae
Caper Family
Chenilam Badukka belongs to the Capparaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
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