Capparis zeylanicaL.

WFO wfo-0000585299 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Capparis zeylanica, photographed by Seema Merchant
fig. a Seema Merchant, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-12-26 / obs. 173615159
Capparis zeylanica, photographed by Dinesh Valke
fig. b Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 171859946
Capparis zeylanica, photographed by Meehir Pawar
fig. c Meehir Pawar, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 170572856
Capparis zeylanica, photographed by Harsha Jayaramaiah
fig. d Harsha Jayaramaiah, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 117422648
Capparis zeylanica, photographed by Meghaa
fig. e Meghaa, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 185187689
Capparis zeylanica, photographed by T R Shankar Raman
fig. f T R Shankar Raman, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 117329937
Capparis zeylanica, photographed by Hopeland
fig. g Hopeland, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 114612188
Capparis zeylanica, photographed by Ajit Ampalakkad
fig. h Ajit Ampalakkad, CC0 1.0 / obs. 46811885

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 18 botanical countries

Regions where Capparis zeylanica is native: China Southeast, Hainan, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya China SoutheastHainanAssamBangladeshCambodiaIndiaJawaLaosLesser Sunda Is.MyanmarNepalPhilippinesSri LankaSulawesiThailandVietnamWest Himalaya Andaman Is.
Native distribution of Capparis zeylanica, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Cambodia CBD
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laos LAO
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
West Himalaya WHM
China Southeast CHS ASIA-TEMPERATE
Hainan CHH

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 24 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Capparis aeylanica Roxb.
  • Capparis aurantioides C.Presl
  • Capparis crassifolia Kurz
  • Capparis dealbata DC.
  • Capparis erythrodasys Miq.
  • Capparis hastigera Hance
  • Capparis hastigera var. obcordata Merr. & F.P.Metcalf
  • Capparis horrida L.f.
  • Capparis horrida var. erythrodasys (Miq.) Miq.
  • Capparis horrida var. paniculata Gagnep.
  • Capparis latifolia Craib
  • Capparis linearis Blanco
  • Capparis myrioneura var. latifolia Hallier f.
  • Capparis nemorosa Blanco
  • Capparis ovalifolia Zipp. ex Miq.
  • Capparis polymorpha Kurz
  • Capparis quadriflora DC.
  • Capparis rufescens Turcz.
  • Capparis subhorrida Craib
  • Capparis swinhoii Hance
  • Capparis terniflora DC.
  • Capparis wightiana Wall.
  • Capparis xanthophylla Collett & Hemsl.
  • Capparis zeylanica var. pubipetala S.Y.Liu, X.Q.Ning & Y.F.Tan

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.