Kattunayakam / White Veld Violet
Dipteracanthus patulus
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh
- Flowering
- June-December
How to identify Kattunayakam
Identify Kattunayakam by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a herb habit.
- Confirm leaf surface: Pubescent (softly hairy).
- Confirm flower colour: Purple.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: June-December.
- In India, compare location records such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh.
- Confirm it sits within the Acanthaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Kattunayakam.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Dipteracanthus patulus
- Genus
- Dipteracanthus
- Family
- Acanthaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Dry deciduous forests, scrub forests
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Abyssinia
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh
- Flowering & fruiting
- June-December
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- Pubescent (softly hairy)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kattunayakam itself; the rest are typical of the Acanthaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- PurplerecordedPurple or violet
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Spike
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kattunayakam itself; the rest are typical of the Acanthaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Malayalam
- Upu-dali
- Tamil
- Grandhi nayakam, காட்டுநாயக்கம் Kattunayakam, Kiranti, Kiranti nayakam
- Urdu
- Kakori booti ﰷﻛﻮﺭﯼ ﺑﯘﭨﯽ
About Kattunayakam
White Veld Violet (Dipteracanthus patulus) is a herb in the Acanthaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It grows in dry deciduous forests, scrub forests. Flowering and fruiting run from June to December.
Acanthaceae
Acanthus family
Kattunayakam belongs to the Acanthaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Acanthaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Kattunayakam or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
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