Typical of the Fabaceae family
Crotalaria juncea
San / Sunn Hemp झुनझुनिया
Hindi name · See all regional names ↓
Also known as Bombay Hemp, Bengal Hemp, Brown Hemp, Indian Hemp, Madras Hemp
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal & more
- Flowering
- August-May
San in regional languages
Find the name you know, then compare it with the botanical profile. Columns list recorded aliases; they are not paired translations. A Latin spelling appears only when it is present in the source record.
| Language | Regional script | Recorded Latin spelling |
|---|---|---|
| Hindi | झुनझुनिया · सन | Jhunjhunia, masina, San, san |
| Bengali | শনপাট | Shon |
| Tamil | வாக்குன்னார் | Vakkunnar |
| Telugu | Not recorded | Gilaka, Shanama |
| Kannada | Not recorded | Pundi |
| Malayalam | Not recorded | Chanaka |
| Marathi | सन | Dhakti ghagri, Ghagharu, San |
See the original recorded names
- Hindi
- झुनझुनिया Jhunjhunia, masina, सन San, san
- Bengali
- Shon, শনপাট
- Tamil
- வாக்குன்னார் Vakkunnar
- Telugu
- Gilaka, Shanama
- Kannada
- Pundi
- Malayalam
- Chanaka
- Marathi
- Dhakti ghagri, Ghagharu, सन San
Ecology & growing context
- Native status · Kew WCVP
- WCVP native range includes Assam, India, West Himalaya Kew dataset ↗
Kew WCVP dataset; accepted-name match. Dataset matching is separate from an individual regional review. Recorded worldwide native range: Afghanistan to Indo-China.
- Recorded habitat
- All types of forests and plains
- Explore nearby plants
- Maharashtra →Tamil Nadu →West Bengal →
Occurrence records show where a plant has been recorded; they do not establish that it is native there. Compare local habitat and growing conditions when choosing plants for a garden.
How to identify San
Identify San by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a undershrub habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Cultivated fiber crop (sunn hemp).
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Alternate.
- Confirm leaf type: Simple (single blade).
- Confirm flower colour: Yellow.
- Confirm fruit surface: Inflated (balloon-like).
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: August-May.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Crotalaria juncea
- Genus
- Crotalaria
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Habitat
- All types of forests and plains
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Native to
- India
- Distribution
- Tropics of the World
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Assam, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- August-May
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- AlternaterecordedOne leaf per node, arranged in a spiral or zigzag up the stem.“It has elongated alternate leaves, meaning the leaf pattern on the stem is a spiral.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf type
- Simple (single blade)recorded
- Leaf surface
- Pubescent (softly hairy)recorded
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for San itself; the rest are typical of the Fabaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Yellowrecorded
- Fruit surface
- Inflated (balloon-like)recorded
Typical of the family
- Inflorescence
- Raceme
- Fruit
- Legume
Characters marked “recorded” are for San itself; the rest are typical of the Fabaceae family — flowering plants only.
San in India
This fibre crop, known as झुनझुनिया Jhunjhunia (Hindi), வாக்குன்னார் Vakkunnar (Tamil), Gilaka (Telugu), Pundi (Kannada), Chanaka (Malayalam), Dhakti ghagri (Marathi), has long been grown for its strong bast fibre. Crotalaria juncea is cultivated across Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, both as a fibre crop and a soil-improving green manure.
Uses
Its stem fibre is processed into rope, twine and coarse cloth, and the whole plant is widely grown as a fast-growing green manure crop, ploughed back into the soil to add nitrogen and organic matter.
How to Identify San
An erect annual herb with simple, narrow, lance-shaped leaves. Bright yellow pea-like flowers cluster in upright spikes, followed by inflated, hairy pods that rattle audibly when shaken as the seeds loosen inside.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Sunn Hemp called in different Indian languages?
- झुनझुनिया Jhunjhunia (Hindi); வாக்குன்னார் Vakkunnar (Tamil); Gilaka (Telugu); Pundi (Kannada); Chanaka (Malayalam); Dhakti ghagri (Marathi); Shon (Bengali).
- Is sunn hemp related to true hemp?
- No — despite the name, sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) is a legume unrelated to true hemp (Cannabis sativa); both simply produce a strong plant fibre, which is where the shared name comes from.
- Why is it grown as 'green manure'?
- As a legume, it fixes nitrogen in the soil through its roots, and when ploughed back in while still green, it adds organic matter and nutrients for the next crop.
Fabaceae
Legume/Bean family
San belongs to the Fabaceae 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.
All plant problem & care guidesMore in Fabaceae
View all FabaceaeSources: GBIF — Crotalaria juncea (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Crotalaria juncea (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)