Skip to content


Taxon:  Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal



Summary
Genus:
Withania
Family:
Solanaceae
Subfamily:
Solanoideae
Tribe:
Physaleae
Subtribe:
Withaninae
Nomen number:
102407
Place of publication:
A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 13(1):453. 1852
Verified:
11/07/1985 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
0 (0  active, 0  available) in National Plant Germplasm System. 
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Basionym
Physalis somnifera L.

No images


Reference(s)
  1. Aldén, B., S. Ryman & M. Hjertson. Våra kulturväxters namn - ursprung och användning. Formas, Stockholm (Handbook on Swedish cultivated and utility plants, their names and origin). 2009
  2. Anjaria, J. V. 1989. Herbal Drugs: Potential for industry and cash. In: G. E. Wickens et al., New crops for food and industry. New crops for food and industry. 1989 91.
  3. Arechavaleta, M. et al., eds. Lista preliminar de especies silvestres de Cabo Verde: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres. 2005
  4. Babu, C. R. Herbaceous flora of Dehra Dun. 1977
  5. Chopra, D. & D. Simon. The Chopra Center herbal handbook: forty natural prescriptions for perfect health. 2000
  6. Cufodontis, G. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta. 1953-1972
  7. Davis, P. H., ed. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands. 1965-1988
  8. Duke, J. A. et al. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs. 2002
  9. Exell, A. W. et al., eds. Flora zambesiaca. 1960-
  10. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
  11. Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14. 2003
  12. Ghazanfar, S. A. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2. 1992
  13. Grellin, J. K. & J. Philpott. A reference guide to medicinal plants. 1990
  14. Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17. 1993
  15. Izquierdo Z., I. et al., eds. Lista de especies silvestres de Canarias: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres. 2004
  16. Janick, J. & J. Simon, eds. Advances in new crops. 1990
  17. Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2. 1953-1972
  18. Mabberley, D. J. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2. 1997
  19. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000
  20. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000
  21. Meikle, R. D. Flora of Cyprus. 1977-1985
  22. Migahid, A. M. Flora of Saudi Arabia, ed. 3. 1988-1990
  23. Mills, S. & K. Bone. Principles and practice of phytotherapy: modern herbal medicine. 1999
  24. Mouterde, P. Nouvelle flore du Liban et de la Syrie. 1966-
  25. Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. Flora of [West] Pakistan. 1970-
  26. Parrotta, J. A. Healing plants of peninsular India. 2001
  27. Peirce, A. The American Pharmaceutical Association practical guide to natural medicines. 1999
  28. Rechinger, K. H., ed. Flora iranica. 1963-
  29. Tirtha, SadaShiva. The Ayurveda encyclopedia: Natural secrets to healing, prevention, and longevity. 1998
  30. Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. Flora europaea. 1964-1980
  31. Van Wyk, B.-E. & M. Wink. Medicinal plants of the world. 2004
  32. Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. World economic plants: a standard reference (on-line edition) [medicinal plants only].
  33. Wood, J. R. I. A handbook of the flora of Yemen. 1997
  34. Zohary, M. & N. Feinbrun-Dothan. Flora palaestina. 1966-
Common names
English
winter-cherry –
India
ashwagandha –
Swedish
withania –
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaKenya  
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaTanzania  
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaUganda  
1NativeAfricaMacaronesiaCabo Verde  
1NativeAfricaMacaronesiaSpainCanary Islands 
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaChad  
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEritrea  
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEthiopia  
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSomalia  
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSudan  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaAlgeria  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaEgypt  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaLibya  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaMorocco  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaTunisia  
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaAngola  
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMalawi  
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMozambique  
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaZambia  
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaZimbabwe  
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaBotswana  
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaEswatini  
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaLesotho  
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaNamibia  
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaCape Province 
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaFree State 
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaKwaZulu-Natal 
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaTransvaal 
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaLiberia  
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaMali  
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaNigeria  
1NativeAfricaWestern Indian OceanMauritius  
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaOman  
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaSaudi Arabia  
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaYemen  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaAfghanistan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIran  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIraq  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIsrael  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaJordan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaLebanon  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaSyria  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaTurkey  
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentPakistan  
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentSri Lanka  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeGreece  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeItalySardinia 
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeItalySicily 
1NativeEuropeSouthwestern EuropeSpain  
4Naturalized     
Native
Africa
  • EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
  • MACARONESIA: Cabo Verde, Spain [Canary Islands]
  • NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Chad
  • NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia
  • SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa [Cape Province, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal]
  • WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Liberia, Mali, Nigeria
  • WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Mauritius
Asia-Temperate
  • ARABIAN PENINSULA: Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen
  • WESTERN ASIA: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan
Europe
  • SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Greece, Italy [Sardinia, Sicily]
  • SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain
Naturalized ()
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Medicinesfolklore McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://ausgenebank.agriculture.vic.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=102407. Accessed 8 December 2025.

Privacy policy

The Australian Grains Genebank collects personal information, such as organisation, contact and address details for the purposes of registering donor information when new germplasms are deposited into the AGG, or as recipient information when orders for seed are placed. Once registered, you can self-manage your personal information through your user profile. No information is made publicly available as recipient of germplasm from the Australian Grains Genebank

Read the Australian Grains Genebank Privacy Policy


GRIN-Global project