Kalinji / Many-Flowered Ixora
Ixora polyantha
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Kerala
- Flowering
- March-December
How to identify Kalinji
Identify Kalinji 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 surface: Glabrous (smooth, hairless).
- Confirm flower colour: Red.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: March-December.
- In India, compare location records such as Karnataka, Kerala.
- Confirm it sits within the Rubiaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Kalinji.
Plant Details
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kalinji itself; the rest are typical of the Rubiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Redrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Berry
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kalinji itself; the rest are typical of the Rubiaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Malayalam
- കലിഞ്ഞി kalinji, കലിഞ്ഞി
About Kalinji
Many-Flowered Ixora (Ixora polyantha) belongs to the Rubiaceae family, where it grows as a shrub. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka and Kerala. It grows in evergreen forests. Flowering and fruiting run from March to December.
Rubiaceae
Coffee/Madder family
Kalinji belongs to the Rubiaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Rubiaceae 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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