Nila Chitrak / The Cape Leadwort
Plumbago auriculata
Also known as Cape Plumbago
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Nila Chitrak
Identify Nila Chitrak 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: Clusters of sky-blue flowers (Cape leadwort).
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Alternate.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Plumbaginaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Nila Chitrak.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Plumbago auriculata
- Genus
- Plumbago
- Family
- Plumbaginaceae
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Habitat
- Garden plant
- Habitat type
- Cultivated
- Native to
- Cape Province (South Africa)
- Distribution
- Cultivated in most parts of the world
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (LC)
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- AlternaterecordedOne leaf per node, arranged in a spiral or zigzag up the stem.“The leaves alternate and are 2–5 cm.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Characters marked “recorded” are for Nila Chitrak itself; the rest are typical of the Plumbaginaceae family.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Nila chitrak नीला चित्रक
- Bengali
- নীল চিতা
- Tamil
- கருங்கொடி வேலி
- Kannada
- ನೀಲಿಚಿತ್ರಮೂಲ Neeli chitramula
- Malayalam
- നീലക്കൊടുവേലി
About Nila Chitrak
A member of the Plumbaginaceae family, The Cape Leadwort (Plumbago auriculata) is a low shrub. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and 18 other states. It grows in garden plant. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Plumbaginaceae
Leadwort Or The Plumbago Family
Nila Chitrak belongs to the Plumbaginaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Plumbaginaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Nila Chitrak or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
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