Lakshmana / Lesser Glory
Ipomoea obscura
- Habit
- Climber
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Lakshmana
Identify Lakshmana by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a climber habit.
- Confirm leaf shape: Cordate (heart-shaped).
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Convolvulaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Lakshmana.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Ipomoea obscura
- Genus
- Ipomoea
- Family
- Convolvulaceae
- Habit
- Climber
- Habitat
- Degraded forests in the planis along roadsides, dry lands, on fences, in fallow fields and arable lands above 1400m
- Distribution
- Tropical Africa, Madagascar through Tropical Asia & Northern Australia, Fiji, Formosa
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- Cordate (heart-shaped)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Lakshmana itself; the rest are typical of the Convolvulaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Lakshmana itself; the rest are typical of the Convolvulaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- लक्ष्मणा Lakshmana, पान बेल Pan bel, वचगंधा Vachagandha
- Bengali
- কুড়াকলমি Kurakalami, ছাগলখুরি, কুড়াকলমি
- Telugu
- గొల్ల జిడ్డు ఆకు Golla jiddu aaku, నల్ల కొక్కిత Nalla kokkita
- Kannada
- ಮೂಗುತಿ ಬಳ್ಳಿ Muguthi balli, ಉರುಟೆಲೆ ಬಳ್ಳಿ Urutele balli, ವಜಿಗಂಧ Vajigandha
- Malayalam
- തിരുതാളി Thiruthaali, തിരുതാളി
- Marathi
- पिवळी भोंवरी Pivali bhonvari, पुंगळी Pungali
About Lakshmana
Lesser Glory (Ipomoea obscura) belongs to the Convolvulaceae family, where it grows as a climber. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and 15 other states. It grows in degraded forests in the planis along roadsides, dry lands, on fences, in fallow fields and arable lands above 1400m. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Uses
It is long used in traditional medicine. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice. Parts of this plant are reported as poisonous — treat it as unsafe to eat and wash your hands after handling.
Convolvulaceae
Morning glory family
Lakshmana belongs to the Convolvulaceae 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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