Maloti or Malati, Aganosma dichotoma

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Maloti-lota or Malati (Aganosma heynei, family: Apocynaceae) is a fast-growing large bushy creeper with woody stem. It is planted in parks, garden and botanical garden in Bangladesh. Its original home is Indian subcontinent. It is the iconic flower of rainy season in the country. 

Another name: Gondho maloti


The starry and pure white flowers, the amazing beauty of the leaves, the strong and long life of the creeper, all in all it is a wonderful plant! It should be considered as an essential flower of the rainy season by the tropical gardeners. 


Leaves are beautiful, entire, elliptical, opposite, 8 cm long and 4 cm wide, apex acute. Petiole and leaf nerves are reddish or purplish. 

Through the tendril it can climb up with any support

Flowers are pure white, highly scented, clustered on terminal panicle. Sepals 5, petals 5. Petals are twusted rightwards, looks a lot like a Shiuly (Night jasmine, Nyctanthes arbor-tritis), about 3 cm in diameter. Flowers bloom in rainy season and it continues to late autumn.


The plant is propagated by seeds and layering. It is grown on wall and railing. A kind oil (Chameli oil) is extracted from the fruit and it is used in various therapeutic purposes. There are many references to Malati in Bengali and Sanskrit literature. 

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