Sanjivani / Field Milkwort
Polygala arvensis
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Sanjivani
Identify Sanjivani 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: Common field weed.
- Confirm flower colour: Purple.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Uttarakhand and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Polygalaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Sanjivani.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Polygala arvensis
- Genus
- Polygala
- Family
- Polygalaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Moist deciduous forests, also in the plains and scrub jungles
- Native to
- Indo-Malaysia
- Distribution
- India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, Northern Australia
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- PurplerecordedPurple or violet
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Fruit
- Drupe
Characters marked “recorded” are for Sanjivani itself; the rest are typical of the Polygalaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Mirdoi, संजीवनी Sanjivani
- Malayalam
- katu-vistna-clandi, kodatsjeri
- Marathi
- फुटाणी
About Sanjivani
Field Milkwort (Polygala arvensis) belongs to the Polygalaceae family, where it grows as a herb. In India it has been recorded in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and 5 other states. It grows in moist deciduous forests, also in the plains and scrub jungles. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Polygalaceae
Milkwort Family
Sanjivani belongs to the Polygalaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Polygalaceae 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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