Thottachinungi / Spindle-Fruit Balsam
Impatiens cuspidata
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu
- Flowering
- August-December
How to identify Thottachinungi
Identify Thottachinungi 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.
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Alternate.
- Confirm leaf surface: Glabrous (smooth, hairless).
- Confirm flower colour: Pink.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: August-December.
- In India, compare location records such as Tamil Nadu.
- Confirm it sits within the Balsaminaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Thottachinungi.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Impatiens cuspidata
- Genus
- Impatiens
- Family
- Balsaminaceae
- Habit
- Shrub
- Habitat
- Stream banks of shola forests
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu
- Flowering & fruiting
- August-December
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- AlternaterecordedOne leaf per node, arranged in a spiral or zigzag up the stem.
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Thottachinungi itself; the rest are typical of the Balsaminaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Pinkrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Solitary
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Thottachinungi itself; the rest are typical of the Balsaminaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Malayalam
- Thottachinungi
About Thottachinungi
A member of the Balsaminaceae family, Spindle-Fruit Balsam (Impatiens cuspidata) is a shrub. In India it has been recorded in Tamil Nadu. It grows in stream banks of shola forests. Flowering and fruiting run from August to December.
Balsaminaceae
Balsam/Touch-me-not family
Thottachinungi belongs to the Balsaminaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Balsaminaceae 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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