Naga Vel / Begonia Vine
Cissus discolor
- Habit
- Climber
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya & more
- Flowering
- August-October
How to identify Naga Vel
Identify Naga Vel by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a climber habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Ornamental silver-pink patterned leaves (begonia vine).
- Confirm leaf type: Simple (single blade).
- Confirm leaf surface: Glabrous (smooth, hairless).
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: August-October.
- In India, compare location records such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Assam and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Vitaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Naga Vel.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Cissus discolor
- Genus
- Cissus
- Family
- Vitaceae
- Habit
- Climber
- Habitat
- Moist Deciduous forests and semi-Evergreen forests, also in sacred groves
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Distribution
- Indo-Malesia
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Assam, Sikkim, Kerala, Goa, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur
- Flowering & fruiting
- August-October
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf type
- Simple (single blade)recorded
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Naga Vel itself; the rest are typical of the Vitaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Berry
Typical of the Vitaceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.
Local Names
- Malayalam
- ആരോൻപുളി aaronpuli, ഞെരിഞ്ഞന്പുളി nerinampuli
- Manipuri
- ꯀꯣꯛꯉꯧꯌꯦꯟ ꯂꯥꯕꯥ কোংগঙৌযেন লবা kongngouyen laba
- Marathi
- नाग वेल naga vel, तेली चा वेल teli cha vel
- Nepali
- जोगि लहरा jogi lahara, सानु पुरेनि sanu pureni
- Kannada
- ಸೋನೆಹುಳಿ sonehuli
- Sanskrit
- अम्लवेतसः amlavetasah
- Tulu
- ಸೋನೆಪ್ಪುಲಿ soneppuli
- Mizo
- Sanghar-hmai
About Naga Vel
Begonia Vine (Cissus discolor) is a climber in the Vitaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya and 9 other states. It grows in moist Deciduous forests and semi-Evergreen forests, also in sacred groves. Flowering and fruiting run from August to October.
Vitaceae
Grape family
Naga Vel belongs to the Vitaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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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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