Madhavi Lata / Clustered Hiptage
Hiptage benghalensis
Also known as Hiptage, Helicopter Flower, Mahavi Latha
- Habit
- Liana
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra & more
- Flowering
- January-November
How to identify Madhavi Lata
Identify Madhavi Lata by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a liana habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Fragrant white-yellow flowers, three-winged helicopter-like fruit.
- Confirm leaf shape: Lanceolate.
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- Confirm flower arrangement: Raceme.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: January-November.
- In India, compare location records such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam and nearby regions.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Hiptage benghalensis
- Genus
- Hiptage
- Family
- Malpighiaceae
- Habit
- Liana
- Habitat
- Deciduous forests, along river banks in semi-evergreen and Evergreen forests, also in sacred groves
- Native to
- Eastern India
- Distribution
- India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka, South China, Malesia
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Gujarat, Kerala, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya
- Flowering & fruiting
- January-November
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- LanceolaterecordedLong and narrow, tapering to a point, like a lance head.“Its leaves are lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate and approximately 20 cm (8 in) long, and 9 cm (4 in) broad;” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Characters marked “recorded” are for Madhavi Lata itself; the rest are typical of the Malpighiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
- Flower arrangement
- RacemerecordedIndividual stalked flowers arranged along a central stem, opening from bottom to top.“benghalensis flowers intermittently during the year, and produces fragrant flowers borne in compact ten-to-thirty-flowered axillary racemes.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fruit type
- SamararecordedA dry, winged fruit adapted for wind dispersal.“Fruits are samaras with three spreading, papery oblanceolate to elliptic wings, 2–5 cm long, and propagate via wind or by cuttings.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Characters marked “recorded” are for Madhavi Lata itself; the rest are typical of the Malpighiaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Madhavi lata माधवी लता
- Nepali
- चारपाते लहरो Charpate laharo
- Bengali
- মাধবীলতা Madhabilata, মাধবীলতা
- Tamil
- குருக்கத்தி, மாதவி (மலர்)
- Kannada
- ಮಾಧವಿ Madhavi, ವಸಂತದೂತಿ Vasantadooti ಅದಿರ್ಗಂತಿ Adirganti, ಅದಿರ್ಗಂಚಿ Adirganchi
- Malayalam
- മാധവി
About Madhavi Lata
Clustered hiptage (Hiptage benghalensis) is a woody climber in the Malpighiaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and 14 other states. It grows in deciduous forests, along river banks in semi-evergreen and Evergreen forests, also in sacred groves. Flowering and fruiting run from January to November.
Uses
It is long used in traditional medicine and used to deter insects. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice. Its sap or hairs can irritate skin, so handle it with care.
Malpighiaceae
Malpighia Family
Madhavi Lata belongs to the Malpighiaceae 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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