Withania somnifera(L.) Dunal

ashwagandhawinter cherrywithania

WFO wfo-0001032779 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Withania somnifera, photographed by Santiago Martín-Bravo
fig. a Santiago Martín-Bravo, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-25 / obs. 200528645
Withania somnifera, photographed by Dagmar Gleiss
fig. b Dagmar Gleiss, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 194869590
Withania somnifera, photographed by Mahomed Desai
fig. c Mahomed Desai, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 176679149
Withania somnifera, photographed by Haneesh K M
fig. d Haneesh K M, CC0 1.0 / obs. 174379362
Withania somnifera, photographed by Tony Rebelo
fig. e Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 98113477
Withania somnifera, photographed by Astra
fig. f Astra, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 80778959
Withania somnifera, photographed by James Deacon
fig. g James Deacon, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 105483366
Withania somnifera, photographed by Astra
fig. h Astra, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 57637277

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 63 botanical countries

Regions where Withania somnifera is native: Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Cape Verde, Chad, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Free State, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, China North-Central, China South-Central, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Gulf States, Iran, Lebanon-Syria, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Türkiye, Yemen, Assam, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Himalaya, Greece, Kriti, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain AlgeriaAngolaBotswanaBurundiCameroonCape ProvincesChadDjiboutiDR CongoEgyptEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaFree StateKenyaKwaZulu-NatalLesothoLibyaMalawiMaliMauritaniaMoroccoMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaNorthern ProvincesRwandaSomaliaSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTunisiaUgandaZambiaZimbabweAfghanistanChina North-CentralChina South-CentralCyprusEast Aegean Is.Gulf StatesIranLebanon-SyriaOmanPalestineSaudi ArabiaSinaiTürkiyeYemenAssamBangladeshIndiaMyanmarPakistanSri LankaWest HimalayaGreeceKritiSiciliaSpain Canary Is.Cape VerdeSardegna
Native distribution of Withania somnifera, 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
Algeria ALG AFRICA
Angola ANG
Botswana BOT
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Canary Is. CNY
Cape Provinces CPP
Cape Verde CVI
Chad CHA
Djibouti DJI
DR Congo ZAI
Egypt EGY
Eritrea ERI
Eswatini SWZ
Ethiopia ETH
Free State OFS
Kenya KEN
KwaZulu-Natal NAT
Lesotho LES
Libya LBY
Malawi MLW
Mali MLI
Mauritania MTN
Morocco MOR
Mozambique MOZ
Namibia NAM
Niger NGR
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Rwanda RWA
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Tunisia TUN
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
Cyprus CYP
East Aegean Is. EAI
Gulf States GST
Iran IRN
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Oman OMA
Palestine PAL
Saudi Arabia SAU
Sinai SIN
Türkiye TUR
Yemen YEM
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
India IND
Myanmar MYA
Pakistan PAK
Sri Lanka SRL
West Himalaya WHM
Greece GRC EUROPE
Kriti KRI
Sardegna SAR
Sicilia SIC
Spain SPA

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.

Flowering 110 in flower of 358 examined

Peak flowering in Nov. Each bar is the share of Withania somnifera observations in which someone actually recorded the reproductive state and found the plant in flower, not the raw number of flowering records. That distinction matters: people observe plants far more in spring than in winter, so a bare count of flowering records partly measures when people go outside. Dividing by the number examined removes that. 110 of 358 examined observations were in flower, every one of them research grade. The whisker on each bar is a 95% Wilson interval. This is still a global aggregate and not a forecast for your garden: the same species flowers on different dates in different hemispheres. Where a species has fewer than 30 flowering records we do not draw this chart at all. Computed from 10.15468/dl.cgje2x.

Also published as 20 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.

  • Alicabon somniferum (L.) Raf.
  • Hypnoticum somniferum Rodr. ex Boiss.
  • Physalis flexuosa L.
  • Physalis flexuosa Wall.
  • Physalis scariosa Webb & Berthel.
  • Physalis somnifera L.
  • Physalis tomentosa Thunb.
  • Physaloides somnifera (L.) Moench
  • Withania chevalieri A.E.Gonç.
  • Withania kansuensis K.Z.Kuang & A.M.Lu
  • Withania macrocalyx (Chiov.) Chiov.
  • Withania microphysalis Suess.
  • Withania mucronata Chiov.
  • Withania obtusifolia Täckh.
  • Withania sicula Lojac.
  • Withania somnifera subsp. obtusifolia (Täckh.) Abedin, M.A.Al-Yahya, Chaudhary & J.S.Mossa
  • Withania somnifera subsp. somnifera
  • Withania somnifera var. abhaica Alsuhaimi, M.A.Ali & Alwahibi
  • Withania somnifera var. macrocalyx Chiov.
  • Withania somnifera var. somalensis Schinz

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. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. 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.