Nature’s delights – Page 18

25/04/201601/10/2020

U is for Utricularia

Welcome!
I am writing about herbs in the 2016 April AtoZ blogging challenge. Most of the herbs written in this series are those I have seen or used. We are into the final week of the challenge, and here we are refreshed after a holiday on Sunday.

Flowers are always seem to convey beauty and innocence right? But I was quite surprised to find that some flowers are beautiful but the plant is not quite innocent, in fact they are just the opposite. Carnivorous to be precise!

We came across this pretty green and purple patch on a rocky plateau at Kaas and before I could go into raptures, our guide told us that the plant actually has ‘traps’ that could catch and digest tiny insects… Sounds gory right, but then that is how Nature works and the Circle of Life is completed. In this case, insects are attracted both for pollination and food. Usually, the flowers are tasked with attracting pollinators and the traps to catch and digest insects are another found elsewhere on the plant.

Surely plants make their own food? Of course, but carnivorous plants often grow in habitats that are not rich in nutrients hence have to become.. well.. non-vegetarian!

AtoZ, blogging challenge, travel , herbs

So here we have it, U is for Utricularia which belongs to the Lentibulariaceae family. There are several species in this genus and many are endemic to the plateaus in the Western Ghats. Here is a close up, but dear reader, please forgive my amateur photography skills. These plants were barely 10″tall when I saw them.

The Burmann’s Sundew (Drosera burmanii) is yet another stunning herb found at Kaas which is also carnivorous.

Have you seen any carnivorous plants? Have you seen them in ‘action’?
I have yet another interesting herb for you tomorrow.

Till then, Take Care!

23/04/201601/10/2020

T is for Toothbrush Orchid

Welcome!
I am writing about herbs in the 2016 April AtoZ blogging challenge. Most of the herbs written in this series are those I have seen or used. Today’s herb has a strange common name and I have not really understood why it is so-called as it bears no resemblance to the real object.

My T herb is the Toothbrush Orchid which doesnt look like a toothbrush at all.. The only resemblance by a long long stretch is that the flowers are all borne on one side, just like toothbrush bristles. I first saw this at the Kaas plateau and recently saw it much closer to Pune, near the Varsagaon dam. Those plants were only about 6″ tall, the creamy white flowers created a beautiful pattern on the grassy plateau. Young flowers are greenish white and change to yellow as they grow older..

It goes by the botanical name Habenaria heyneana and belongs to the Orchidaceae family. The Flowers of India website showed me 37 plants of the Habenaria genus- that’s huge variety is it not?

Tomorrow is the fourth Sunday of April 2016 and then we enter the final stretch of our blogging challenge. Its been a wonderful journey so far, I am sure you agree.
Have a great weekend folks!
🙂

22/04/201601/10/2020

S is for Spermacoce pusilla

Welcome!
I am writing about herbs in the 2016 April AtoZ blogging challenge. Most of the herbs written in this series are those I have seen or used. Today I am writing about a herb that I have identified using the Flowers of Sahyadri app- I think the id is correct but am open to correction from any botany experts..

This tiny white inflorescence caught my eye as we waited for the coffee to boil on our make shift stove outside a sacred grove near Pune. The perfect blooms seemed to reiterate the survival spirit of every living being however small!

This Spermacoce pusilla commonly called Tiny False Buttonweed or Tarkadal in Marathi of the Rubiaceae family. It has a quandragular stem with tiny prickles. S pusilla belongs to the Rubiaceae family (Coffee family) and is native to India.

Sopubia delphinifolia is yet another pretty herb that is seen on Pune tekdis. Sesamum orientale has pretty pink trumpet shaped flowers and I have seen it blooming in the monsoon.

Sesamum orientale

Do come round tomorrow for yet another beautiful monsoon herb.
Happy blogging!
🙂

21/04/201601/10/2020

R is for Rosemary

Welcome!
I am writing about herbs in the 2016 April AtoZ blogging challenge. Most of the herbs written in this series are those I have seen or used. Today’s herb is used widely in India and overseas mainly to flavour food.

Any guesses? That’s right, it is Rosemary. The botanical name is Rosmarinus officinalis and belongs to the Laminaceae family. It is generally errect with needle like aromatic leaves. I was a late user of this particular herb and am a big fan now. So much that I am trying to grow it at home. It seems to be happy here but has not flowered yet. Hence I am reluctant to use its still young stems and prefer to source my rosemary from the super market!

Rosemary twigs ready for cooking

Tiny Rosemary shoots in my kitchen garden

As you can see from my bio, I am a reluctant cook, yet here is an absolutely divine dish that you can make using rosemary. Do not count calories because as someone said, whatever tastes good would be calorie rich too…

Do follow this link for the detailed recipie of Baked Potato and Rosemary Gratin, but here is what it looks like:

I am sure there will be no leftovers!
Enjoy!

20/04/201601/10/2020

Q is for Quick Weed

Welcome!
I am writing about herbs in the 2016 April AtoZ blogging challenge. Do catch up with the herbs so far, you may find some thing interesting, someone familiar.

As expected Q was the biggest challenge but I finally I did find one herb that fit the bill… My herb for the day is Quick Weed or Galinsoga parviflora that belongs to the Asteraceae family. Its an annual herb which is native to India, specifically the North East states. It also goes by the common names of Gallant Soldier and Potato weed. The botanical synonym is Tridax parviflora and one of its close ‘cousins’ Tridax procumbens grows profusely in my part of the world. At first glance the two plants have similar flowers and I have taken the liberty of posting a Tridax procumbens flower so you get an idea of what Quick Weed looks like.

That’s it for Q. I have something really interesting in store tomorrow for R.
Till then take care!
🙂

19/04/201601/10/2020

P is for Pinda

Welcome!
I am writing about herbs in the 2016 April AtoZ blogging challenge. Most of the herbs written in this series are those I have seen or used. The first time I saw today’s herb was in a lecture of our Field Botany class. The white blossoms reminded me of carrot flowers.

Pinda concanensis has delicate white blossoms and the herb usually grows on the cliff edges in the Western Ghats. My first encounter with the Pinda was at Kaas and more recently at Raireshwar Plateau. Pinda and many other herbs grow only in their specific habitats and one has to make the journey to those parts to see the plants up close. And the journey is totally worth it! Its easy to identify the endemic herbs of the Western Ghats once they are in bloom.

Pinda belongs to the Apiaceae family, same as carrots- which explains my initial recall of the plant.

Which of the herbs showcased till now have you seen or used?
Do let us know.
There are more lovely herbs on the rest of the journey till the alphabet Z.
Do visit again.
Till then, take care!
🙂

18/04/201601/10/2020

O is for Ocimum

Beautiful flowers of Tulsi Photo courtesy @puneribaker

Photo courtesy @puneribaker

holy plants, offerings, AtoZ blogging challenge

Photo courtesy @puneribaker

That’s right, I am talking about the Holy Tulsi or Ocimum sanctum of the Laminaceae family. Many households have a Tulsi growing in their homes, in the balcony or terrace or garden. The plant has a long list of medicinal benefits. The Tulsi leaf is offered during pooja and is said to be the favourite of Lord Vishnu. However the Tulsi is offered to Lord Ganesha only during the Ganeshutsav period and not on other days of the year.

Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) plant

The herb is native to India and has almost round leaves with a toothed margin. The entire plant is tomentose and fragrant. Leaf colour may vary from shades of green to reddish purple. The delicate flowers bear tiny seeds which are widely used as well.

We are at almost half way through the challenge. How has it been so far for you?
Good luck for the rest of the blogathon!
🙂

16/04/201601/10/2020

N is for Nisurdi

Welcome!
I am writing about herbs in the 2016 April AtoZ blogging challenge. Most of the herbs written in this series are those I have seen or used. Today’s herb is one that I have seen in the Western Ghats.

My herb for the letter N is locally called Nisurdi or Common Hill Borage and its botanical name is Adelocaryum coelestinum of the Boranginaceae family. There are frequent stops when trekking up a hill on a hot day when the monsoon is playing truant. the sight of a colourful carpet is soothing indeed. The heart shaped leaves of the Nisurdi caught my eyes before I spotted the flowers. The errect herb had large leaves at its base and its petiole was surprisingly red. The flowers were light blue or white and have a blue centre.

AtoZ herbs, travel, trekking ,western ghats

Red petiole and heart shaped leaves

Adelocaryum coelestinum

This pretty species has two of its ‘cousins’ that also grow in this area and are endemic to this region. They are Adelocaryum lambertianum and Paracarypopsis malabarica. The famous Forget Me Not flower (Myosotis alpestris) belongs to the Boranginaceae family too.

Kaas Plateau of Flowers– a book by Sandeep Shrotri is good resource for those planning a visit to see monsoon blossoming there.

Another much deserved Sunday holiday is up next for the AtoZ blog challenge takers. I hope to catch up with some more wonderful blogs out there.
Have a wonderful Sunday folks!
🙂

14/04/201601/10/2020

M is for Mimosa

Welcome!
I am writing about herbs in the 2016 April AtoZ blogging challenge. Most of the herbs written in this series are those I have seen or used. Today’s herb is one that I had studied many moons ago in school and I am sure most of you would have heard about it or seen it.

M is for Mimosa pudica most commonly called Touch Me Not belonging to the Mimosaceae family. The plant probably owes its common name and fame to the property of its leaves closing up and drooping when touched. Mimosa has very pretty ball shaped pink flowers. Identifiying this herb is easy, just touch it and you would know! Touch Me Not is called Chui-Mui or Lajwanti and grows extensively in the tropical regions.

Another lovely ‘M’ herb is Murdannia which grows in the grasslands of the Western Ghats.

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!
🙂

13/04/201601/10/2020

L is for Lepidagathis cristata

Welcome!
I am writing about herbs in the 2016 April AtoZ blogging challenge. Most of the herbs written in this series are those I have seen or used. Today’s herb is another discovery on my morning walk…

I had spotted a curious spongy looking semicircular growth on the hill which occasionally had leaves around it. It was not clear if the leaves grew out of this central white structure or were from some other plant. I referred to a group of plant lovers who identified it as Lepidagathis cristata of the Acanthaceae family. This plant is native to India and goes by the common name of Crested Lepidagathis or Bhu Terada in Marathi. It is said to have medicinal value as well.