Chay Root / Dye Root
Oldenlandia umbellata
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana & more
- Flowering
- August-May
How to identify Chay Root
Identify Chay Root 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.
- Confirm leaf surface: Glabrous (smooth, hairless).
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- Confirm flower arrangement: Umbel.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: August-May.
- In India, compare location records such as Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Rubiaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Chay Root.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Oldenlandia umbellata
- Genus
- Oldenlandia
- Family
- Rubiaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Dry and moist deciduous forests, also in the plains
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- August-May
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Chay Root itself; the rest are typical of the Rubiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
- Flower arrangement
- UmbelrecordedFlower stalks all radiate from a single point, like umbrella ribs.“Oldenlandia umbellata (called chay root or choy root, from its Tamil name, chaaya ver) is a low-growing plant native to India.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Berry
Characters marked “recorded” are for Chay Root itself; the rest are typical of the Rubiaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Tamil
- இம்பூரல்
- Malayalam
- ഓൾഡെൻലാൻഡിയ ഉമ്പെല്ലാട്ട, Chay root, Choy root
About Chay Root
A member of the Rubiaceae family, Dye Root (Oldenlandia umbellata) is a herb. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana and 2 other states. It grows in dry and moist deciduous forests, also in the plains. Flowering and fruiting run from August to May.
Rubiaceae
Coffee/Madder family
Chay Root belongs to the Rubiaceae 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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