Kana / Creeping Cradle Plant
Tonningia axillaris
- Habit
- Herb
- Native to
- Tropical Asia, Africa
- Flowering
- July-January
How to identify Kana
Identify Kana 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.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Flowers clustered in leaf axils, creeping habit.
- Confirm flower colour: Blue.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: July-January.
- Confirm it sits within the Commelinaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Kana.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Tonningia axillaris
- Genus
- Tonningia
- Family
- Commelinaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Moist places in degraded deciduous forests
- Native to
- Tropical Asia, Africa
- Distribution
- Indo-Malesia, South China, Australia, Nepal and Introduced to Tropical Africa
- Flowering & fruiting
- July-January
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Typical of the Commelinaceae family — a field-mark hint, not measured for this exact species.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Bluerecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kana itself; the rest are typical of the Commelinaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- काना Kana
- Kannada
- Negalu kanne soppu
- Marathi
- बेचका Bechka
- Nepali
- तेने झार Tene Jhaar
- Tamil
- Vazhukai pul
- Telugu
- Golla gundi, Kodi kalu
About Kana
A member of the Commelinaceae family, Creeping Cradle Plant (Tonningia axillaris) is a herb. It is native to Tropical Asia, Africa. It grows in moist places in degraded deciduous forests. Flowering and fruiting run from July to January.
Commelinaceae
Spiderwort Family
Kana belongs to the Commelinaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Commelinaceae 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.
All plant problem & care guides