Banda / Long-Leaved Mistletoe
Dendrophthoe falcata
- Habit
- Parasite
- Found in India
- Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka & more
- Flowering
- December-May
How to identify Banda
Identify Banda by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a parasite habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Common parasitic mistletoe on many host trees, curved sickle-shaped leaves.
- Confirm leaf type: Normal leafy shrub.
- Confirm leaf surface: Glabrous (smooth, hairless).
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: December-May.
- In India, compare location records such as Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Loranthaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Banda.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Dendrophthoe falcata
- Genus
- Dendrophthoe
- Family
- Loranthaceae
- Habit
- Parasite
- Habitat
- Moist and dry deciduous forests, also in the plains
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka, Himalayas, Thailand, China, Malesia to Australia
- Found in India
- Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- December-May
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf type
- Normal leafy shrubrecorded
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Banda itself; the rest are typical of the Loranthaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Spike
- Fruit
- Berry
Typical of the Loranthaceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.
Local Names
- Hindi
- बंदा Banda, बंदा पाठा Banda Patha
- Bengali
- মধুপায়ী ধাইরা
- Tamil
- புல்லுரீ Pulluri, புல்லுருவீ Pulluruvi, உசீ Uchi
- Telugu
- జిద్దూ Jiddu, యెలింగా Yelinga
- Kannada
- ಮದುಕ Maduk, ಬದನಿಕೆ Badanike, ಬಂದನಿಕೆ
- Malayalam
- Ittikkanni, ഇത്തിൾക്കണ്ണി
- Marathi
- वंदा Vanda, बंदगुल Bandgul
About Banda
Long-leaved Mistletoe (Dendrophthoe falcata) is a parasitic plant in the Loranthaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and 16 other states. It grows in moist and dry deciduous forests, also in the plains. Flowering and fruiting run from December to May.
Loranthaceae
Mistletoe Family
Banda belongs to the Loranthaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Loranthaceae 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.
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