Krishnaneela / Upright Thunbergia
Thunbergia erecta
Also known as Blue Bell, King's Mantle, Bush Clock Vine
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Krishnaneela
Identify Krishnaneela by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a shrub habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Upright non-climbing shrub with purple trumpet flowers.
- Confirm leaf arrangement: Opposite.
- Confirm leaf surface: Pubescent.
- Confirm flower colour: Purple.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana and nearby regions.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Thunbergia erecta
- Genus
- Thunbergia
- Family
- Acanthaceae
- Habit
- Shrub
- Native to
- Tropical Africa
- Distribution
- Westren Tropical Africa
- Found in India
- Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Chandigarh, Haryana, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Delhi, Nagaland, Puducherry, Tripura
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf arrangement
- OppositerecordedTwo leaves arise from the stem at the same point, facing each other.“Leaves are arranged in opposite pairs and are ovate, elliptic or lanceolate, measuring up to 8 cm (3.1 in) long and 4 cm (1.6 in) wide.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf surface
- PubescentrecordedCovered in short, soft hairs.“The blades are glabrous or sparsely hairy along the midrib.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Krishnaneela itself; the rest are typical of the Acanthaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- PurplerecordedPurple or violet
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Spike
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Krishnaneela itself; the rest are typical of the Acanthaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Bengali
- নীল ঘন্টা
- Tamil
- துன்பேர்சியா எரிக்டா
- Malayalam
- കൃഷ്ണനീല, Krishnaneela, Thunbergia erecta
About Krishnaneela
A member of the Acanthaceae family, Upright Thunbergia (Thunbergia erecta) is a shrub. In India it has been recorded in Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and 23 other states. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Uses
In practice it is planted as an ornamental.
Acanthaceae
Acanthus family
Krishnaneela belongs to the Acanthaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Acanthaceae 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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