Phirki / Pinwheel Creeper
Symphorema involucratum
- Habit
- Climbing shrub
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu & more
- Flowering
- February-May
How to identify Phirki
Identify Phirki 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: Pinwheel-arranged flower clusters.
- Confirm leaf surface: Pubescent (softly hairy).
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- Confirm flower arrangement: Spike (stalkless flowers along a stem).
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: February-May.
- In India, compare location records such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Symphorema involucratum
- Genus
- Symphorema
- Family
- Verbenaceae
- Habit
- Climbing shrub
- Habitat
- Evergreen, semi-evergreen and dry forests
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Distribution
- Indo-Malesia
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram
- Flowering & fruiting
- February-May
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- Pubescent (softly hairy)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Phirki itself; the rest are typical of the Verbenaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
- Flower arrangement
- Spike (stalkless flowers along a stem)recorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Drupe
Characters marked “recorded” are for Phirki itself; the rest are typical of the Verbenaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- फिरकी Phirki
- Tamil
- பூங்குரங்கு Poongurungu, வக்கணாத்தி Vakkanatti, வெள்ளை மல்லிக்கொடி Vellaimallikkodi
- Telugu
- బుడమర్రి Budamarri, ఇసపరతీగ Esaparatiga, గుబ్బదార Gubbadaara
- Kannada
- ಬೆಟ್ಟ ತಕ್ಕಾಳಿ Betta Thakkaali, ನರಂಬೋಧಲ್ Narambodhalu
- Malayalam
- ഞരമ്പോടൽ Njarambodal, പൂഞാലിപ്പൂ Poonjaalippoo
- Marathi
- भिंगरी Bhingari, भिंगरी
About Phirki
Pinwheel Creeper (Symphorema involucratum) is a climbing shrub in the Verbenaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and 1 other states. It grows in evergreen, semi-evergreen and dry forests. Flowering and fruiting run from February to May.
Verbenaceae
Verbena/Teak family
Phirki belongs to the Verbenaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Verbenaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Phirki 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