Kharinta / Country Mallow
Sida cordifolia
Also known as Bala
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Found in India
- Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Kharinta
Identify Kharinta 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: Densely velvety leaves.
- Confirm leaf shape: Ovate.
- Confirm flower colour: Yellow.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Malvaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Kharinta.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Sida cordifolia
- Genus
- Sida
- Family
- Malvaceae
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Habitat
- Waste places, along roadsides and deciduous forests
- Distribution
- Pantropical
- Found in India
- Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Meghalaya, Punjab, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- OvaterecordedEgg-shaped, broader near the base.“The yellow-green leaves are oblong-ovate, covered with hairs, and 3.5 to 7.5 cm (1.4 to 3.0 in) long by 2.5 to 6 cm (0.98 to 2.36 in) wide.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kharinta itself; the rest are typical of the Malvaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Yellowrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Solitary
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kharinta itself; the rest are typical of the Malvaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Kharinta, Barial, bala
- Bengali
- Berela, বেড়েলা
- Tamil
- சித்தாமுட்டி
- Kannada
- ಚಿತ್ತುಹರಳು Chittuharalu, ಬೆಣ್ಣೆಗರಗ Benne garaga ಹೆತ್ತುತ್ತಿ ಗಿಡ Hettuti-gida, ಹೆತ್ತುತ್ತಿ
- Malayalam
- Katturam, വെള്ളൂരം
- Marathi
- Bala, Chikana, Tupkaria
About Kharinta
A member of the Malvaceae family, Country Mallow (Sida cordifolia) is a low shrub. In India it has been recorded in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and 16 other states. It grows in waste places, along roadsides and deciduous forests. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Malvaceae
Mallow/Hibiscus family
Kharinta belongs to the Malvaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Malvaceae 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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