Neuracanthus sphaerostachyus (Nees) Dalzell

¿ nyur-uh-KANTH-us ? -- Greek: neuron (vein, nerve); ákantha (thorn, spine); spiny vein ... Dave's Botanary
sfay-ro-STAY-kee-us -- sphaero (round, globe shaped); stachyus (flower spikes) ... Dave's Botanary

commonly known as: pin cushion flower • Gujarati: ગંઠેર ganthera • Hindi: पुतलियो putliyo • Kachchhi: ગંઢારો gandharo • Kannada: ಸೂಜಿಮೆತ್ತೆ ಹೂವು sujimette hoovu • Konkani: घोशवे ghoshve • Marathi: घोसवेल ghosvel, गोलगोंडा golgonda


botanical names: Neuracanthus sphaerostachyus (Nees) Dalzell ... homotypic synonyms: Lepidagathis sphaerostachya Nees ... heterotypic synonyms: Neuracanthus lawii Wight ... and more at POWO, retrieved 06 July 2025

NOTE: Orthographic variant: Neuracanthus sphaerostachys (Nees) Dalzell

Bibliography / etymology

Links listed as references in the notes below, may not remain valid permanently. Portals / websites have a tendency to re-organize / revise their content, leading to change in URLs of pages in their site. Some sites may even close down at their own will. The bits about the languages of India mentioned below are merely some bare facts gathered from the internet; just enough to satisfy curiosity about "where" could the listed names be best prevalent in India. All English transliterated names to be taken sensu amplo.

~~~~~ ENGLISH ~~~~~

written and spoken widely, in most parts of India

pin cushion flower

• Flowers of India, retrieved July 05, 2025

~~~~~ GUJARATI ~~~~~

written in: Gujarati (ગુજરાતી) ... spoken in: Gujarat, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu

ગંઠેર ganthera

• વનસ્પતીઓ ના ગુજરાતી તથા બોટનીકલ નામ ની યાદી (વૈધ કે.જે.ઝાલા)
• Biological Diversity of Gujarat - published by Gujarat Ecology Commission [accessed on: 16 Dec 2020]
• or ગંડેર gandera ... PLANTS OF CUTCH AND THEIR UTILITY by THAKAR, JAIKRISHNA INDRAJI, 1926

~~~~~ HINDI ~~~~~

written in: Devanagari (हिन्दी) ... spoken in: Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand

पुतलियो putliyo

• Dangar, D.K. & Patel, Nilesh. (2018). Pharmacognostic studies on Neuracanthus sphaerostachyus Dalz. (Acanthaceae) leaves. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine. 11. 10.1016/j.jaim.2017.09.008.
• Based on the construct of this name, it could most possibly be a local name in Rajasthan ... पुतलियो putliyo = pupil of eye, the flower in full glory alludes to the iris & pupil of eye

~~~~~ KACHCHHI ~~~~~

written in: Gujarati (કચ્છી), Sindhi (ڪڇّي) ... spoken in: Kutch region of Gujarat

ગંઢારો gandharo

• PLANTS OF CUTCH AND THEIR UTILITY by THAKAR, JAIKRISHNA INDRAJI, 1926

~~~~~ KANNADA ~~~~~

written in: Kannada (ಕನ್ನಡ) ... spoken in: Karnataka

ಸೂಜಿಮೆತ್ತೆ ಹೂವು sujimette hoovu

• name coined, for want of name; based on the English name "pin cushion flower" ... ಸೂಜಿಮೆತ್ತೆ sujimette = pincushion; ಹೂವು hoovu = flower

~~~~~ KONKANI ~~~~~

written in: Devanagari (कोंकणी) / Kannada (ಕೊಂಕಣಿ) / Malayalam (കൊങ്കണി) / Perso-Arabic (کونکنی) / Romi (Konknni) ... spoken in: Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat

घोशवे ghoshve

• Biodiversity in Goa - Flora of Goa

~~~~~ MARATHI ~~~~~

written in: Devanagari (मराठी) ... spoken in: Maharashtra, Karnataka

घोसवेल ghosvel

• The Gazetteer Department - Maharashtra State ... महाराष्ट्रातील वनस्पतीशास्त्र आणि वनसंपदा [accessed on: 28 Apr 2014]
• most probably this name घोसवेल ghosvel could be in error ... वेल vel = climber ... this plant is however an erect herb; proper name could most likely be घोसवे ghosve ... please see the Konkani name घोशवे ghoshve

गोलगोंडा golgonda

• name coined, for want of name, by Shrikant Ingalhalikar, the author of Flowers of Sahyadri, the first among the three field guides to identify plants of northern Western Ghats of India, based on flowers

~~~~~ DISTRIBUTION in INDIA ~~~~~

Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagar Haveli, Rajasthan; endemic

• Hassler, Michael (1994 - 2025): World Plants. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. Version 25.06; last update June 15th, 2025. Last accessed 05/07/2025 (dd/mm/yyyy).

~~~~~ Created on: 17:32 05-07-2025 ¦ Last updated: 14:36 06-07-2025 (DD-MM-YYYY) ~~~~~

Acanthaceae endemic annual herb "Neuracanthus sphaerostachyus" "Neuracanthus sphaerostachys" "Lepidagathis sphaerostachya" "Neuracanthus lawii" "pin-cushion flower"