Madanaghanti / Shaggy Buttonweed
Spermacoce hispida
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Madanaghanti
Identify Madanaghanti 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: Hirsute (coarsely hairy).
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Rubiaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Madanaghanti.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Spermacoce hispida
- Genus
- Spermacoce
- Family
- Rubiaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Distribution
- India, China, Malaysia, Indo-China
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- Hirsute (coarsely hairy)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Madanaghanti itself; the rest are typical of the Rubiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Berry
Characters marked “recorded” are for Madanaghanti itself; the rest are typical of the Rubiaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- मदनघंटी Madanaghanti
- Nepali
- गनेली झार Ganele Jhar
- Tamil
- Chirakkuli, Chirakkulicceti
- Kannada
- Daare Botu, Madana buddame gida, Madana Ganti
- Malayalam
- Kudalchurukki, Nattachuri, Natthachoori
- Marathi
- Gedo, घंटाची भाजी Ghantachi-bhaji
About Madanaghanti
Shaggy Buttonweed (Spermacoce hispida) belongs to the Rubiaceae family, where it grows as a herb. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and 6 other states. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Rubiaceae
Coffee/Madder family
Madanaghanti belongs to the Rubiaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Rubiaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Madanaghanti 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