Common Name: Indian whitehead. Tamil name: Vallari
Indian whitehead is probably native to India, it has a large geographical spread and seen around deciduous forest areas, dry grasslands and also near sea coast. Enicostemma is a genus under Gentianaceae family, characteristic by winged or angular stem; generally they are perennials or annuals and have white flowers arranged in a whorl around the stem. India whitehead grows to a height of about 1 feet. The leafs are sessile, simple, oppositely arranged with a wavy margin. They are narrow lanceolate-oblong in shape. The leaf tip may be rounded or tapering into a sharp point. The inflorescence is arranged around the stem at regular intervals. Flowers are radially symmetric, bisexual and tubular in shape. The flower is white in color. The plant resemble similar plants in rubiaceae family. The main difference to note is that the flowers in Gentianaceae are epigynous (sepal, petals and stamens arise from below the ovary) and also the lack of interpetiolar stipules. It is a larval host plant for Gram blue butterfly.
