Kapar / Milky Way Tree
Wrightia tinctoria
Also known as Pala Indigo Plant, Sweet Indrajao
- Habit
- Tree
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana & more
- Flowering
- February-October
How to identify Kapar
Identify Kapar by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a tree habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Source of natural indigo-like blue dye.
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: February-October.
- In India, compare location records such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Apocynaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Kapar.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Wrightia tinctoria
- Genus
- Wrightia
- Family
- Apocynaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Dry and mixed deciduous forests
- Habitat type
- Forest
- Native to
- Australia, Asia
- Distribution
- India, Australia, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vienam
- Found in India
- Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala, Odisha, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Puducherry
- Flowering & fruiting
- February-October
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (LC)
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Typical of the Apocynaceae family — a field-mark hint, not measured for this exact species.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Follicle
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kapar itself; the rest are typical of the Apocynaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- कपार Kapar, Dudhi दुधी
- Tamil
- Paalai பாலை, Vetpalai, வெப்பாலை
- Kannada
- ಅಲಿಗಿಲಿ Aligili, ಕೊಡಮುರ್ಯ Kodamurya, ಹಾಲೆ Haale
- Malayalam
- Aiyappala, Kotakappala
- Marathi
- काळा कुडा
About Kapar
A member of the Apocynaceae family, Milky Way Tree (Wrightia tinctoria) is a tree. In India it has been recorded in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and 11 other states. It grows in dry and mixed deciduous forests. Flowering and fruiting run from February to October.
Uses
In practice it is grown for parts that are eaten, long used in traditional medicine and cut for timber and furniture. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice.
Apocynaceae
Dogbane family
Kapar belongs to the Apocynaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Apocynaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Kapar 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