Common name: Spiny Bottle Brush • Hindi: Kastula • Marathi: झंकारा Jhankara, Kateri
Botanical name: Haplanthodes verticillatus Family: Acanthaceae (Ruellia family)
Spiny Bottle Brush is an erect annual herb, growing to only about half meter
high. oppositely arranged ovate narrow leaves are 5-10 cm long. The leaves
have two spinous teeth at the tip and are covered with log spreading hairs.
Stalkless flowers occur in the leaf axils, densely concentrated near the top
of the stem. The flowers, which appear to have five petals, actually have
only two petals which are 2 and 3 lobed. The flowers are dark blue in color
and have a light green in the throat. Commonly found on rocky slopes on the
Western Ghats. Flowering: November-January.
| Photographed in Lonavala, Maharashtra. |
Identification credit: Pravin Kawale
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