Liliaceae · Drimia

Ban Piaj / Secret Night Squill

Drimia indica

Herb
Habit
Herb
Found in India
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan & more
Flowering
December-May

Plant Details

Scientific name
Drimia indica
Genus
Drimia
Family
Liliaceae
Habit
Herb
Habitat
Dry deciduous forests and also in the plains
Habitat type
Forest
Distribution
India, Myanmar, Nepal, Tropical Africa
Found in India
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Uttarakhand
Flowering & fruiting
December-May
Conservation status
Not Evaluated (NE)

Leaf characters

Leaf shape
Strap-like/grass-likerecorded

Typical of the family

Arrangement
Alternate
Simple type leaf character
Type
Simple
Entire margin leaf character
Margin
Entire
Parallel venation leaf character
Venation
Parallel

Characters marked “recorded” are for Ban Piaj itself; the rest are typical of the Liliaceae family.

Flower & fruit characters

Flower colour
Whiterecorded
Flower arrangement
RacemerecordedIndividual stalked flowers arranged along a central stem, opening from bottom to top.The flowers are widely spaced on the raceme, which is 15–31 cm long, and are carried on stalks (pedicels) 2.5–4 cm long. — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Fruit type
CapsulerecordedA dry fruit from a fused ovary that splits open at maturity to release seeds.Between six and nine seeds are produced in a capsule which is 1.5–1.8 cm long. — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Typical of the family

Inflorescence
Raceme
Fruit
Capsule

Characters marked “recorded” are for Ban Piaj itself; the rest are typical of the Liliaceae family — flowering plants only.

Local Names

Hindi
बन प्याज ban piaj, जंगली कांदा jungli kanda, जंगली प्याज jungli piaj
Nepali
बन प्याज ban pyaaj
Bengali
জংলি পিয়াজ jongali piyaz, জংলি পিয়াজ
Tamil
ஆசுக்காயம் acukkayam, நரிவெங்காயம் nari-venkayam, நாயுள்ளி nay-ulli, நரிவெங்காயம்
Telugu
నక్క nakka
Kannada
ಬಿಳಿ ಈರುಳ್ಳಿ bili eerulli, ಕಾಡು ಬೆಳ್ಳುಳ್ಳಿ kaadu bellulli, ಕಾಡೀರುಳ್ಳಿ kaadirulli
Malayalam
കാട്ടുള്ളി kaattulli, കാൻതെങ്ങ kaanthenga, നരിവെങ്കായം narivenkayam
Marathi
रान कांदा ran kanda

About Ban Piaj

Secret Night Squill (Drimia indica) is a herb in the Liliaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and 8 other states. It grows in dry deciduous forests and also in the plains. Flowering and fruiting run from December to May.

Illustration representing the Liliaceae family
Botanical family

Liliaceae

Lily Family

Ban Piaj belongs to the Liliaceae family.

The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.

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Common plant problems

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