Flower Names in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam — Complete Visual Guide

The Language of Flowers in India

India is not one botanical world — it is five, ten, twenty overlapping worlds, each with its own flower vocabulary built over millennia. The same Hibiscus that a Tamil home worships as Sembaruthi is the Dasavala of Malayalam prayers, the Dasaval of Kannada markets, and the Gudhal of Hindi-speaking garland makers. Knowing a flower's name in the local language is not just linguistic courtesy — it is the key to finding it in markets, understanding its ritual uses, and connecting with its deep cultural identity.

This guide covers 30+ common flowers found across India, mapping each one across Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, and Malayalam. We have also included the scientific name for botanical precision and a quick identification tip for each major flower group.

Multilingual flower name guide

The Master Reference: 30+ Flowers in 5 Languages

Spotlight: All 15 Flowers — Regional Names & Cultural Significance

1. Jasmine — India's Most Loved Flower

No flower carries more cultural weight in India than jasmine. The general Tamil term Mullai encompasses several jasmine species, but the most prized — *Jasminum sambac* — is specifically called Malli in everyday Tamil speech. In Telugu, it is Malle Puvvu (puvvu = flower). Kerala's wedding market calls it Mullappoo and uses it almost exclusively for bridal hair decorations. Hindi-speaking North India knows it simply as Chameli, the inspiration for countless songs and fragrances. In Karnataka, the same bloom becomes Mallige, the default temple offering woven into long garlands.

Quick Identification: Small, waxy white flowers with 5–9 petals and an intense night fragrance. Look for oval, dark green leaves and a sprawling, vine-like habit.

Jasminum sambac Arabian Jasmine Profile Check Details →

2. Hibiscus — The Temple Flower

Hibiscus (*Hibiscus rosa-sinensis*) is perhaps the most widely planted ornamental in South India. The Tamil Sembaruthi (sem = red, paruthi = cotton flower) tells you exactly what it looks like. The Malayalam Chembaruthi is a phonetic cousin. In Kannada, it becomes Dasavala, a reference to the five-petalled form. Hindi speakers call it Gudhal — a word that appears consistently in Ayurvedic texts as a medicinal herb for hair and scalp health. In Telugu, the name Mandaram is used across domestic gardens and temple compounds alike.

The red Hibiscus is specifically used in Ganesha puja and Kali worship. The flower head is offered fresh daily, which is why hibiscus plants are found in nearly every Indian household garden.

Quick Identification: Large, trumpet-shaped flowers up to 10 cm across with a prominent staminal column. Leaves are glossy and slightly serrated. Available in red, pink, yellow, and coral varieties.

Temple Flower Hibiscus Full Profile Check Details →

3. Marigold — The Festival Flower

No Indian festival is complete without marigold garlands. Botanically *Tagetes erecta*, marigold was brought by the Portuguese from the Americas in the 16th century yet was so thoroughly adopted that most Indians consider it native. In Tamil Nadu it is Thulukka Samandhi — the 'Turkish Chrysanthemum' — a name that hints at its foreign origins. Telugu simply calls it Banthiflower (from bandhi / vendor). Hindi's Genda is the most widely known name across North India. In Kannada it is Sevantige; in Malayalam, Chendumalli.

Marigolds bloom profusely in winter (October–February), which is why they dominate the festival season from Navaratri through Pongal. They are also the easiest flower to grow in India's diverse climates.

Tagetes erecta African Marigold Profile Check Details →

4. Rose — The Universal Romantic

The rose is the one flower whose name barely changes across India's languages — a testament to how universally it was received when introduced from Persia through Mughal gardens. In Tamil it is simply Roja, directly borrowed from the Portuguese *rosa*. Telugu calls it Gulaabi Puvvu (gulaabi = pink, puvvu = flower). Hindi and Kannada share Gulab, from the Persian *gul-ab* (flower water — as in rose water). Malayalam also uses Roja, completing a neat phonetic circle back to Tamil.

The Mughal emperors, especially Babur and Jahangir, were obsessed with roses and helped establish extensive rose gardens across the subcontinent. The rose water (Gulab Jal) industry in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, is still active today, producing some of the finest distilled rose extracts in the world.

Quick Identification: Compound leaves with serrated leaflets, prominent thorns on the stem, and layered petals with a soft, sweet fragrance. Available in hundreds of cultivated varieties.

Rosa sp. Rose Full Profile Check Details →

5. Lotus — The Sacred National Flower

The lotus (*Nelumbo nucifera*) is India's national flower and perhaps the most symbolically loaded bloom in the entire subcontinent. The Tamil Thamarai and Malayalam Thamara share a root in the Dravidian word for water flower. Telugu uses Tamara Puvvu, and Kannada simply Kamala — the Sanskrit name that also gives rise to the popular feminine name. Hindi uses Kamal, from the same Sanskrit root, which also appears in the Bhagavad Gita as a metaphor for spiritual non-attachment.

The lotus grows with its roots submerged in mud yet blooms immaculately above the water — a physical metaphor that every Indian religion has used to describe enlightenment. It appears in Buddhist iconography, Jain cosmology, and Hindu devotional art with equal authority.

Quick Identification: Large round leaves (up to 80 cm) that repel water completely. Pink or white flowers rise on a single stem above the water surface. Seed pods resemble a shower head after bloom.

Nelumbo nucifera Sacred Lotus Profile Check Details →

6. Tuberose — The Fragrance Queen

Tuberose (*Polianthes tuberosa*) is the undisputed queen of night fragrance in South India. Tamil calls it Sugandaraja (fragrance king — despite the feminine association), a name Kannada mirrors almost exactly. Telugu uses Sugandarajam. Hindi's Rajnigandha (night-fragrant) is the most poetic name — it specifically captures the flower's habit of intensifying its scent after sunset. Malayalam uses Rajnigandham, drawing from the same Hindi root.

In Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, tuberose is commercially grown on an enormous scale to supply garland markets for weddings and temple festivals. A single flower spike can produce up to 50 individual blooms, making it extremely cost-effective for garland weaving. The perfume industry uses tuberose absolute as one of the most expensive natural fragrance components in luxury perfumery.

Quick Identification: Long upright spikes of waxy white tubular flowers with a sweet, heavy, and distinctly nocturnal fragrance. Narrow, grass-like leaves at the base.

7. Chrysanthemum — The Winter Market Flower

Chrysanthemum is called Saamandhi in Tamil — a corruption of the Sanskrit *Shatapatra* (hundred-petalled). Telugu uses Chamanthi, and Kannada mirrors this as Chamanthi too. Malayalam uses Saamandhi, completing a phonetic loop back to Tamil. Hindi speakers across North India call it Guldaudi — a combination of *gul* (flower) and *daudi* (type).

Chrysanthemums are the backbone of the winter garland economy across India. They bloom from October to February in a wide range of colours — white, yellow, orange, and deep burgundy — and are heavily used in funeral wreaths, festival decorations, and temple offerings during the cooler months. The city of Pune has a particularly famous annual chrysanthemum show.

Quick Identification: Dense, multi-petalled blooms in a dome or pompom shape. Leaves are deeply lobed with a distinctive aromatic scent when crushed. Stems are rigid and erect.

8. Oleander — The Roadside Warning

Oleander (*Nerium oleander*) is one of the most commonly planted roadside shrubs in South India — and also one of the most toxic plants in the garden. Tamil and Malayalam share the same name: Arali. Telugu calls it Ganneru, Kannada Kanagilu, and Hindi Kaner. Despite the name variation, one fact remains uniform: every part of the oleander plant — flowers, leaves, stems, and sap — is poisonous to humans and livestock.

Its toxicity notwithstanding, oleander holds important ritual value. White oleander (Arali) is offered in Shiva temples across Tamil Nadu, and it appears in classical Tamil Sangam poetry as a symbol of devotion. The key distinction is between the white-flowered variety (used for Shiva worship) and the pink or red varieties (considered less auspicious in ritual contexts).

Quick Identification: Long, leathery, lance-shaped leaves in whorls of three. Flowers in clusters at branch tips — white, pink, or red. Milky sap when stem is broken. WARNING: Do not touch eyes after handling; toxic if ingested.

9. Plumeria (Frangipani) — The Temple Tree Bloom

Plumeria (*Plumeria rubra*) is the flower of temple courtyards and cremation grounds across South India — a seemingly contradictory dual role that reflects its complex cultural position. Tamil calls it Perungali or Champa, the latter borrowed from Hindi. Malayalam uses Champa too. Telugu and Kannada also use Champa — making this one of the most linguistically uniform flowers across the subcontinent.

The plumeria tree was introduced to India from the Caribbean via Portuguese traders, yet it became so deeply embedded in temple architecture that it is now inseparable from the Indian religious landscape. Its waxy, five-petalled blooms are offered to temple deities and are also traditionally placed at cremation sites — representing the soul's transition. In Bali (with strong Hindu influence), it is draped around every ceremonial space.

Quick Identification: Thick, succulent-like branches with milky sap. Leaves clustered at branch tips, large and elongated. Flowers are five-petalled in white, yellow, pink or red, with a sweet, honeyed fragrance strongest at dawn.

10. Bougainvillea — The Paper Flower

Bougainvillea is one of the most visually dramatic plants in Indian gardens, covering walls and fences in blazing magenta, orange, and white bracts. In Tamil it is delightfully called Kagithapoo — literally 'paper flower', referring to the papery texture of its bracts. Malayalam calls it Kagatappoo (same meaning), and Kannada uses Kagada Hoo — all three independently arriving at the same paper metaphor. Telugu calls it Kaadipuvvu (forest flower), while Hindi simply uses the Anglicised Bougainvillea.

Introduced to India from Brazil in the 19th century through the Calcutta Botanical Garden, bougainvillea adapted so aggressively to the Indian climate that it now grows wild along roadsides from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. The brightly coloured 'petals' are actually bracts (modified leaves); the actual flower is the tiny white or cream-coloured tube at the centre.

Quick Identification: Woody thorny vine with oval leaves. The colourful papery 'petals' (bracts) come in threes, surrounding a tiny, inconspicuous true flower. Thrives in full sun; highly drought tolerant.

11. Night Jasmine (Parijat) — The Fallen Star Flower

The Parijat (*Nyctanthes arbor-tristis*) is unique: it blooms only at night and falls at dawn, carpeting the ground below the tree in a fragrant orange-and-white mosaic. Its scientific name *arbor-tristis* means 'tree of sorrow' — a nod to its habit of dropping blossoms at sunrise. Despite the Sanskrit name, it is called Parijatham in Tamil and Malayalam, Parijatam in Telugu, Parijata in Kannada, and Harsingar in Hindi — the last meaning 'adornment of the gods'. In all five languages, the name traces back to the mythological tree said to have been brought from heaven by Lord Krishna.

Quick Identification: Small white tubular flowers with a distinctive bright orange stem (like a matchstick). The flowers fall at dawn and can be gathered from the ground — they retain their fragrance even after falling. Heart-shaped rough-textured leaves.

12. Sunflower — The Modern Addition

The sunflower (*Helianthus annuus*) arrived in India relatively late — through European botanical exchange in the 17th–18th century — yet its name was immediately understood through the lens of the existing sun-worship tradition. Across all five languages, the name is a direct translation of 'sun-flower': Tamil Suryakanthi, Telugu Suryakantham, Hindi Surajmukhi (sun-faced), Kannada Suryakanthi, and Malayalam Suryakanthi. This is remarkable linguistic consistency for an introduced crop, and it reflects how intuitively the heliotropic behaviour (the seedling stage's tracking of the sun) was recognised and named.

Today sunflower is a major oilseed crop across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. The ornamental varieties are increasingly popular in Indian flower markets, especially for wedding decoration.

Quick Identification: Large, rough-hairy leaves and stems. Flower head is a composite of hundreds of tiny florets arranged in a Fibonacci spiral, surrounded by bright yellow ray petals. Seed head is heavy and nutritious.

13. Crown Flower — The Sacred Shiva Bloom

Crown flower (*Calotropis gigantea*) is one of the few wildflowers that is also a sacred offering. In Tamil it is Erukku, in Telugu Jilledu, in Kannada Eke, in Malayalam Erikku, and in Hindi Aak or Madar. Despite being classified as a weed in many contexts (it grows wild on roadsides and wasteland), it holds the highest ritual status in Shaivite worship — the purple-and-white crown-shaped flowers are offered specifically to Lord Shiva and cannot be used in worship of other deities.

The milky sap of Calotropis is highly caustic and was historically used in folk medicine and arrow poison. The fibre from its stems was used to make rope, and the seed floss (similar to silk cotton) was used for stuffing pillows. This combination of ritual sacredness and practical utility makes it one of India's most culturally layered wildflowers.

Quick Identification: Large, oval, grey-green leaves with a whitish bloom. Flowers in clusters — five reflexed white petals with a purple-tipped crown. Milky white sap when stem is cut. Inflated seed pods burst to release silky white floss.

14. Peacock Flower — The Misnamed Gulmohar

The peacock flower (*Caesalpinia pulcherrima*) is one of the most visually striking shrubs in South Indian gardens — its fringed orange and red flowers with long, prominent stamens are unmistakable. Tamil calls it Mayilkondrai (peacock's crest), Malayalam Mayilkonnai, and Telugu Ratnagandhi (jewel-scented). Kannada uses Kempu Sirige (red fringe). The Hindi name Gulmohar is often used loosely — technically Gulmohar refers to the large *Delonix regia* tree, but street vendors across North India use it for this smaller shrub too.

It is important not to confuse Caesalpinia with the true Gulmohar (Delonix regia) — the tree that flames orange across Indian cities every April. Caesalpinia is a shrub, blooms year-round, and has finely divided feathery leaves. Despite the naming confusion, the peacock flower is one of the most commonly planted ornamentals in South Indian residential gardens.

Quick Identification: Bipinnate feathery leaves, shrubby growth to 3–4 metres. Flowers in upright racemes — five crinkled petals in orange-red with one yellow-streaked petal, plus 10 long red stamens. Seed pods are flat and dark brown.

15. Ixora (Jungle Flame) — The Forgotten Garden Classic

Ixora (*Ixora coccinea*) has completely different names across South India, each reflecting its visual character. Tamil calls it Vetchi — relating to its use in traditional medicine and ritual offerings. Malayalam's Thecchi is a botanical sister word. In Hindi, it becomes Rukmini after the goddess, reflecting the flower's intense crimson colour. The Kannada name Kepala is more prosaic, simply meaning 'red flower cluster'. Telugu uses Koranti, a name with roots in the region's folk botanical tradition.

Despite being one of the most common hedgerow plants across South India, Ixora is often overlooked in favour of more glamorous flowers. Its dense clusters of small tubular blooms are important nectar sources for butterflies and sunbirds. In Ayurvedic practice, the flowers and roots are used to treat a range of conditions from skin diseases to dysentery.

Quick Identification: Compact, evergreen shrub. Dense, rounded clusters (corymbs) of small, four-petalled flowers in intense red, orange, pink, or white. Leaves are glossy, dark green, and stiff. Widely used as a clipped hedge plant.

How to Identify Flowers Using BioLens

If you encounter a flower at a market, temple, or garden and cannot place its name, BioLens's Flower Identifier can recognise species from a photo and display names in all 11 languages supported by the platform — including all 5 South Indian languages covered in this guide.

AI Scanner Identify Any Flower Check Details →

Jasminum sambac Jasmine Species Guide Check Details →

Nelumbo nucifera Sacred Lotus Profile Check Details →

A Note on Transliteration

The names in this guide are presented in Roman transliteration for readability. All names are also available in their original scripts — Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Devanagari — on each flower's dedicated BioLens profile page. Navigate to any flower page on BioLens to see the full multilingual name table rendered in native scripts, along with pronunciation guides.