Hadpat / White Shrimp Plant
Justicia betonica var. betonica
Also known as Squirrel Tail, Paper Plume
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Hadpat
Identify Hadpat by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a undershrub habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: White bracts with green veins (white shrimp plant).
- Confirm leaf surface: Glabrous (smooth, hairless).
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Acanthaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Hadpat.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Justicia betonica var. betonica
- Genus
- Justicia
- Family
- Acanthaceae
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Habitat
- On plains above 900m, in thickets by stream banks, moist deciduous forests and wastelands
- Distribution
- Old World tropics
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Hadpat itself; the rest are typical of the Acanthaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Spike
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Hadpat itself; the rest are typical of the Acanthaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- हाड़पात Hadpat, मोकंदर Mokander, प्रमेहःहराती Pramehaharati
- Bengali
- পাটল বাসক Patela Basak
- Tamil
- வேலிமூங்கில் Veli-Munkil
- Kannada
- ಕಾಡು ಕನಕಾಂಬರ Kaadu Kanakaambara, ಸಣ್ಣ ಅಡುಸೋಗೆ Sanna Adusoge
- Malayalam
- വെള്ളക്കുറിഞ്ഞി Vellakurunji
- Marathi
- गुलाबी अडुलसा Gulabi Adulasa
About Hadpat
A member of the Acanthaceae family, White Shrimp plant (Justicia betonica var. betonica) is a low shrub. In India it has been recorded in Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and 4 other states. It grows in on plains above 900m, in thickets by stream banks, moist deciduous forests and wastelands. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Acanthaceae
Acanthus family
Hadpat belongs to the Acanthaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Acanthaceae 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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