Christ's Thorn
Carissa carandas
Also known as Bengal Currants, Jasmine flowered Carissa
About Christ's Thorn
Carissa carandas is a species of flowering shrub in the family Apocynaceae. It produces berry-sized fruits that are commonly used as a condiment in Indian pickles and spices. The fruit is black and tastes sweet or sour depending on the plant. It is a hardy, drought-tolerant plant that thrives well in a wide range of soils. Common names in English include Bengal currant, Christ's thorn, Carandas plum, Karonda, Karvanda and Kanna . The supposed varieties congesta and paucinervia refer to the related conkerberry (C. spinarum).
Description adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Carissa carandas
- Genus
- Carissa
- Family
- APOCYNACEAE
- Habit
- Shrub
- Habitat
- Dry forests
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia and widespread by cultivation
- Flowering & fruiting
- March-October
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Local Names
- Hindi
- Karonda करौंदा, Karonda, करोंदा
- Nepali
- करौँदा
- Bengali
- করমচা
- Tamil
- களா Kalakkai, களா
- Telugu
- Peddakalavi, వాకకాయ (కరొండ), వాకకాయ
- Kannada
- ಕವಳಿ ಹೂವು ಕವಳಿ ಹೂವು Kavali hoovu, ಕವಳ Kavala, ಕವಳಿಕಾಯಿ Kavalikai ಕರಿಚೆ Kariche
- Malayalam
- Karakka, കാര, Carissa carandas
- Marathi
- karvand
Apocynaceae
Dogbane family
Christ's Thorn belongs to the Apocynaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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