Wide Spikenard നരിപ്പൂച്ചി

Malayalam name · See all regional names ↓

Introduced in India · Kew WCVPoutdoor

Found in India: Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka & more

Identify this plant with SASYA

One plant. Many familiar names.

Wide Spikenard in regional languages

Find the name you know, then compare it with the botanical profile. Columns list recorded aliases; they are not paired translations. A Latin spelling appears only when it is present in the source record.

Recorded regional names for Wide Spikenard
Language	Regional script	Recorded Latin spelling
Telugu	హిప్తిస్ సావెలెన్స్	Not recorded
Malayalam	നരിപ്പൂച്ചി	Not recorded
Bengali	বিলাতি তুলসী	Not recorded
Nepali	वन सिलाम	Not recorded

See the original recorded names

Telugu: హిప్తిస్ సావెలెన్స్
Malayalam: നരിപ്പൂച്ചി
Bengali: বিলাতি তুলসী
Nepali: वन सिलाम

Sharing the same ground

Ecological pressure

Reports about this plant in particular places. Evidence from one region or a wider genus doesn’t establish the same effect everywhere.

Named a high-concern invasive in the 2023 national study

01
Predominant invader in dry savannas and dry deciduous forests
Read source ↗

Ecology & growing context

Native status · Kew WCVP: WCVP records it as introduced in Andaman Is., Assam, India, Laccadive Is., Nicobar Is., West Himalaya Kew dataset ↗
Kew WCVP dataset; accepted-name match. Dataset matching is separate from an individual regional review. Recorded worldwide native range: Mexico to Trop. America.
Explore nearby plants: Telangana →Maharashtra →Karnataka →

Occurrence records show where a plant has been recorded; they do not establish that it is native there. Compare local habitat and growing conditions when choosing plants for a garden.

How to identify Wide Spikenard

Identify Wide Spikenard by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.

Confirm leaf margin: Toothed.
Confirm leaf surface: Pubescent (softly hairy).
Confirm flower colour: Purple.
Confirm flower arrangement: Spike (stalkless flowers along a stem).
In India, compare location records such as Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and nearby regions.
Confirm it sits within the Lamiaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Wide Spikenard.

Plant Details

Scientific name: Mesosphaerum suaveolens
Genus: Mesosphaerum
Family: Lamiaceae
Found in India: Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Puducherry, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Goa, Daman & Diu, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh
Conservation status: Not Evaluated (NE)

Leaf characters

Leaf margin: ToothedrecordedA saw-like or jagged edge (serrate or dentate).“Leaves are oppositely arranged, 2–10 cm (0.79–3.94 in) long, with shallowly toothed margins, and emit a strong minty odor if crushed.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Leaf surface: Pubescent (softly hairy)recorded

Typical of the family

Arrangement: Opposite
Type: Simple
Venation: Pinnate

Characters marked “recorded” are for Wide Spikenard itself; the rest are typical of the Lamiaceae family.

Flower & fruit characters

Flower colour: PurplerecordedPurple or violet
Flower arrangement: Spike (stalkless flowers along a stem)recorded

Typical of the family

Flower symmetry: Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
Inflorescence: Cyme
Fruit: Nutlets

Characters marked “recorded” are for Wide Spikenard itself; the rest are typical of the Lamiaceae family — flowering plants only.

About Wide Spikenard

Wide Spikenard (Mesosphaerum suaveolens) is a species in the Lamiaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and 21 other states.