Vilayti-Mehdi / Hopseed Bush
Dodonaea viscosa
Also known as Switch Sorrel
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Vilayti-Mehdi
Identify Vilayti-Mehdi by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a shrub habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Sticky narrow leaves, winged papery capsules (hopseed bush).
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Alternate.
- Confirm leaf type: Simple (single blade).
- Confirm flower arrangement: Panicle.
- Confirm fruit type: Capsule.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Dodonaea viscosa
- Genus
- Dodonaea
- Family
- Sapindaceae
- Habit
- Shrub
- Habitat
- Shola, evergreen, dry deciduous and scrub forests
- Distribution
- Pantropical
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Kerala, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- AlternaterecordedOne leaf per node, arranged in a spiral or zigzag up the stem.“The leaves are variable in shape: generally obovate but some of them are lanceolate, often sessile, 4–7.5 cm (1.6–3.0 in) long and 1–1.5 cm (0.39–0.59 in) broad, alternate in arran” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf type
- Simple (single blade)recorded
- Leaf shape
- LanceolaterecordedLong and narrow, tapering to a point, like a lance head.“The leaves are variable in shape: generally obovate but some of them are lanceolate, often sessile, 4–7.5 cm (1.6–3.0 in) long and 1–1.5 cm (0.39–0.59 in) broad, alternate in arran” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Vilayti-Mehdi itself; the rest are typical of the Sapindaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower arrangement
- PaniclerecordedA branching cluster of clusters.“The flowers are yellow to orange-red and produced in panicles about 2.5 cm (0.98 in) in length.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fruit type
- CapsulerecordedA dry fruit from a fused ovary that splits open at maturity to release seeds.“The fruit is a capsule 1.5 cm (0.59 in) broad, red ripening brown, with two to four wings.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fruit surface
- WingedrecordedBears flat, papery wing-like extensions.
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Panicle
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Vilayti-Mehdi itself; the rest are typical of the Sapindaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Sanatta, विलायती मेहॆंदी Vilayti-mehdi, Sinatha
- Tamil
- Virali, விராலி
- Telugu
- Bandaru, Pullena
- Kannada
- Bandaru, ಬಂದರೆ, ಬಂಡಾರೆ Bandare
- Malayalam
- Vrali, Unnataruvi, വ്രാളി
- Marathi
- Lutchmi
About Vilayti-Mehdi
A member of the Sapindaceae family, Hopseed bush (Dodonaea viscosa) is a shrub. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and 13 other states. It grows in shola, evergreen, dry deciduous and scrub forests. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Uses
It is long used in traditional medicine, planted as an ornamental and tapped for gum or resin. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice.
Sapindaceae
Soapberry/Lychee family
Vilayti-Mehdi belongs to the Sapindaceae 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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