Bichata / Hawaii Woodnettle
Laportea interrupta
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka & more
- Flowering
- August-November
How to identify Bichata
Identify Bichata by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a herb habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Stinging hairs on stems and leaves.
- Confirm leaf surface: Hirsute (coarsely hairy).
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: August-November.
- In India, compare location records such as Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Urticaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Bichata.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Laportea interrupta
- Genus
- Laportea
- Family
- Urticaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Degraded deciduous forests, also in the plains
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Distribution
- Africa, Abyssinia, Sri lanka, India, Japan, China through Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Islands
- Found in India
- Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
- Flowering & fruiting
- August-November
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- Hirsute (coarsely hairy)recorded
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Bichata itself; the rest are typical of the Urticaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Fruit
- Achene
Typical of the Urticaceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.
Local Names
- Hindi
- बिछाता bichata, बिछुआ bichua, बिछुटी bichuti
- Bengali
- লাল-বিছুটি lal-bichuti, লাল-বিছুটি
- Tamil
- பெருங்காஞ்சொறி peru-n-kanchori
- Kannada
- ಪಂಚರಂಗಿ pancharangi
- Malayalam
- ആനക്കൊടിത്തൂവ aanakkodithoova, ചൊറിയണം choriyanam, കുപ്പത്തൂവ kuppathoova
- Marathi
- आग्या aagya
About Bichata
A member of the Urticaceae family, Hawaii Woodnettle (Laportea interrupta) is a herb. In India it has been recorded in Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and 4 other states. It grows in degraded deciduous forests, also in the plains. Flowering and fruiting run from August to November.
Urticaceae
Nettle family
Bichata belongs to the Urticaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Urticaceae 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.
All plant problem & care guides