Banafsha / Smooth-Leaf White Violet
Viola pilosa
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh & more
- Flowering
- January-April
How to identify Banafsha
Identify Banafsha 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: Softly hairy leaves.
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: January-April.
- In India, compare location records such as Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Violaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Banafsha.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Viola pilosa
- Genus
- Viola
- Family
- Violaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Evergreen forests
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Distribution
- Indo-Malesia and China
- Found in India
- Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Meghalaya, Sikkim
- Flowering & fruiting
- January-April
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
Typical of the Violaceae family — a field-mark hint, not measured for this exact species.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Panicle
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Banafsha itself; the rest are typical of the Violaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- बनफ़्शा Banafsha, banafsha
- Nepali
- धट्टे घाँस Ghatte ghans
- Kannada
- Bili kaamakasthoori
About Banafsha
Smooth-Leaf White Violet (Viola pilosa) is a herb in the Violaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh and 5 other states. It grows in evergreen forests. Flowering and fruiting run from January to April.
Violaceae
Violet Family
Banafsha belongs to the Violaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Violaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Banafsha 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