Harmal / Bristly Wild Grape
Cyphostemma setosum
- Habit
- Climbing shrub
- Found in India
- Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana
- Flowering
- September-January
How to identify Harmal
Identify Harmal by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a climbing shrub habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Bristly hairs covering stems and leaves.
- Confirm leaf type: Palmately compound (leaflets radiate from one point).
- Confirm leaf surface: Hirsute (coarsely hairy).
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: September-January.
- In India, compare location records such as Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana.
- Confirm it sits within the Vitaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Harmal.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Cyphostemma setosum
- Genus
- Cyphostemma
- Family
- Vitaceae
- Habit
- Climbing shrub
- Habitat
- Dry deciduous forests
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Native to
- India, Sri Lanka
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka
- Found in India
- Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana
- Flowering & fruiting
- September-January
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf type
- Palmately compound (leaflets radiate from one point)recorded
- Leaf surface
- Hirsute (coarsely hairy)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Harmal 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
- Hindi
- हरमल Harmal
- Tamil
- Kangu kelari, Kauri, Pulinaralai
- Kannada
- Talavaranaballi
- Marathi
- Khajgolichavel
About Harmal
Bristly Wild Grape (Cyphostemma setosum) is a climbing shrub in the Vitaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. It grows in dry deciduous forests. Flowering and fruiting run from September to January.
Vitaceae
Grape family
Harmal belongs to the Vitaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Vitaceae familySnap it. Know it.
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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 guides