Phok / East-Indian Globe Thistle
Sarcostemma intermedium
- Habit
- Climbing shrub
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh
- Flowering
- July-December
How to identify Phok
Identify Phok by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a climbing shrub habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Rounded jointed succulent stems.
- Confirm leaf shape: Absent (leafless).
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: July-December.
- In India, compare location records such as Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh.
- Confirm it sits within the Asclepiadaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Phok.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Sarcostemma intermedium
- Genus
- Sarcostemma
- Family
- Asclepiadaceae
- Habit
- Climbing shrub
- Habitat
- Foothills of deciduous forests
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Native to
- India
- Distribution
- India
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh
- Flowering & fruiting
- July-December
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- Absent (leafless)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Phok itself; the rest are typical of the Asclepiadaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Follicle
Characters marked “recorded” are for Phok itself; the rest are typical of the Asclepiadaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Phok
- Tamil
- Kodikalli
About Phok
A member of the Asclepiadaceae family, East-Indian Globe Thistle (Sarcostemma intermedium) is a climbing shrub. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. It grows in foothills of deciduous forests. Flowering and fruiting run from July to December.
Asclepiadaceae
Milkweed Family
Phok belongs to the Asclepiadaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Asclepiadaceae 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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