Wordless Wednesday
Sacred groves (Nandivli)
I have written before about Devrai or Sacred Groves. I had the opportunity to visit one more recently with none other than the Patriach of Botany in my city. He gave us some more insights about Devrai which I would like to put into my own words.
Devrai is the marathi word for sacred groves, and loosely put, they can be described as forests that are protected by a local deity usually a Goddess (देवी) but some devrai have Khandoba or Mhasoba as their deity. The forest does not have a ‘temple’ in the form that we know it but it may be a simple structure made from local materials and the idol itself may be no more than a stone. Usually the offerings are flowers that have naturally fallen off trees and the blooms must not be deliberately plucked in a devrai. In fact nothing should be plucked in this forest or even taken away including dead or dry branches, twigs, leaves all of which must be left to decay there itself. The species growing in such protected forests thus get protection and thrive. Some shrubs, trees, roots etc may have medicinal properties. It is the ‘Bhagat’ who is the only person who is allowed to pluck such tree parts to help any sick villagers after offering due prayers to the tree. No one else can do so.
Devrai is the marathi word for sacred groves, and loosely put, they can be described as forests that are protected by a local deity usually a Goddess (देवी) but some devrai have Khandoba or Mhasoba as their deity. The forest does not have a ‘temple’ in the form that we know it but it may be a simple structure made from local materials and the idol itself may be no more than a stone. Usually the offerings are flowers that have naturally fallen off trees and the blooms must not be deliberately plucked in a devrai. In fact nothing should be plucked in this forest or even taken away including dead or dry branches, twigs, leaves all of which must be left to decay there itself. The species growing in such protected forests thus get protection and thrive. Some shrubs, trees, roots etc may have medicinal properties. It is the ‘Bhagat’ who is the only person who is allowed to pluck such tree parts to help any sick villagers after offering due prayers to the tree. No one else can do so.
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| Backwaters of the Mulshi Dam near Pune, Maharashtra |
The Sahyadris have about 3000 devrai and the Mulshi area has up to 30 sacred groves. The Kudawale devrai near Dapoli is said to be spread over about 100 acres. These can serve as reference ecosystems which will help chose the
correct species for any new plantation, afforestation projects in
the area. It takes a thousand years or more for a proper forest to develop and simply planting a few hundred trees is not akin to creating a forest.
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| The Sahyadri crest line near Mulshi Dam |
It is such blind faith has helped protect the forests from the relentless march of so-called progress and urbanisation that has extended cement and mortar monstrosities way outside Pune. The area of some devrai has reduced and some do not have undergrowth. The latter is an indication of regeneration of the species growing there. Lack of undergrowth heralds a bleak future for the devrai. Construction of new roads is a good thing but it may have a detrimental effect on such protected forests.
Here is a link to a Wikipedia article about devrai.
This article lists sacred groves in Maharashtra and here is one with some general information.
We recently visited a devrai near Mulshi. A tarred road to Lonavla ran through a part of this devrai. Access is by personal vehicles or an ST bus service from Pune (Swargate). As we neared Mulshi, the blazing red Dhaitee (Woodifordia fruiticosa) provided a welcome relief to the dry brown and yellow of the countryside as was the furry soft white inflorescence of the Bhamni. The weather had just started warming up and people were just about recovering from ‘Holi’. There was extensive flowering which was a pleasure and helped identification.
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| Bhamni: Cholebroochia oppositifolia |
We stepped out of the bus and were greeted by the sweet fragrance of the ‘Lokhandi’ (an Ixora species). You may remember the red walking sticks in Mahableshwar. They are made from this tree! Other trees specifically found in this grove were the Toran (Zizyphus rugosa). Its fruit is double the size of the usual Karwanda and is ready around the Divali festival. We were lucky to see blooming of the Waras (Heterophragma quadriloculare) , Vatoli (Diploclisia glaucescens), Shivan (Gmelina arborea), Kakad (Garuga pinnata) and Kuda. The Palas was in fruiting stage while the red blazing leaves of Baheda (Terminalia bellerica) and Kusumb gave a flaming touch to the scenery. I saw the Khedshingi with its strange looking fruit for the first time. The poisonous Hura (Sapium insigne) and Raan ghewda (Paracalyx scariosus) was a first for me as well.
My friends tell me that they could spot many varieties of birds and had an extremely satisfying bird spotting session here.
Here are some images (absolutely amateur variety!!) that I have taken during my visit to the devrai. Enjoy!
(Double click to open a new tab so the photo description can be seen)
Wordless Wednesday
Hibiscus
Its biggest claim to fame is Ganesha’s favourite flower.
This flower is also said to benefit hair health.
This flower is also said to benefit hair health.
Hibiscus or Jaswanda as it is called in Marathi grows profusely in and around Pune but it blooms only for a day. The fully grown buds of Hibiscus bloom after sunrise and shut in the
evening. By the time night falls, the buds are fully closed. While one can buy many types of flowers the Hibiscus and Prajakta are two flowers that are rarely sold in the markets. This can be a challenge for the devout as the buds need not necessarily bloom on the day of their Pooja. This may not always happen. So one commonly sees people straining to pluck buds from trees growing along compound walls as they return from their morning walks!
A relative told me a method to ‘trick’ the buds to delay their blooming. This way one can collect mature buds and get them to flower later than the day they would normally. My experiment aimed for a one-day delay but maybe it will work for two days as well. I’ll try that the next time I have a bigger harvest of mature buds and let you all know!!
Here is what I did and I have a set of photographs to show you how the bud/flower behaved.
On a particular day (lets call it Day minus 1) my Hibiscus had about five mature buds that were set to open the next day (lets call it Day 1). I wanted to use the flower on the day after that (to be called Day 2). Under normal circumstances, the buds would have all bloomed on Day 1 and I would have had no blooming flowers on Day 2.
I plucked the buds and kept two of them in the fridge on the evening on Day minus 1.
On Day 1, I took them out and let them stand in some water. The buds were still tightly closed, the other buds of the same ‘age’ had bloomed fully. I used them in my Pooja.
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| 1. Hibiscus buds were tightly closed after being kept ovenight in the fridge |
The petals opened slowly and I monitored their progress through Day 1. The photographs have been taken in the afternoon, late evening and night.
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| 2. About one hour outside the fridge. |
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| 3. Afternoon of Day 1. Petals start opening |
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| 4. Evening of Day 1: Partially open buds |
At end of Day 1, the other flowers had closed and these remained in the partially open state.
The buds stayed in water overnight in the room.
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| 5. Night Day 1. Partially opened flowers. (9.29PM) |
Day 2: The buds bloomed fully and stayed open for the entire day. The petals shut tightly as the end ended.
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| 6. Fully open flowers (5.40AM) |
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| 7. The flower of the previous day (Day 1) had closed. These flowers stayed fresh and fully open. (9.29AM) |
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| 8. Petals close in the evening. (6.09PM) |
This seems to suggest that the flowers can be ‘tricked’ into blooming later. Their overnight stay in the dark refrigerator must have worked.
While writing this post, I came across this article that offers tips to keep Hibiscus flowers open.
I do not know if we can keep the buds in the fridge for another day
so that they can bloom on Day 3. If any of you tries this, do let us
know.
Take care!
Update (07 Oct 2013): Recently I have seen Hibiscus flowers for sale but this is very very rare. In the meantime you can try my experiment…
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| Hibiscus flowers are not always sold in the market. |
May is for Mangoes
May. The month that every one dreads for intense searing heat, blazing sunshine. It is also the month that mangoes are at their peak. While mangoes are available in India right from the month of March, I firmly believer that they taste their best only in May. The heat allows them to ripen naturally and their colour and flavour is best enhanced in these conditions. It is often called the King of Fruits.
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| Lovely ripe mangos fill the air with their intoxicatingly sweet fragrance that is sure to tempt passerbys to buy them. |
It is widely known that fruit that is available in earlier months may be artificially ripened using various techniques. That obviously prevents the real flavour from developing. Reports state that Carbide is often used to ripen mangoes. Since they are available much before their natural ripenening period, they are obviously very costly and yet do not taste like the real thing.
So how do we know?
- First and foremost, one must inspect the fruit before buying it. Check the area of the stalk. My regular mango vendor has told me that fruit where this portion (around the stalk) is raised has been plucked early from the tree. That prevents it from developing its full flavour on the tree which is a must.
- In additon also check the curve of the fruit. The curve must be gentle and not a deep depression. The image I have added here will better explain what I have just said.
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| Check the curve on the mango. It must be a gentle curve and not a deep depression |
- Check the skin for any obvious marks that suggest application of any powders etc. This article mentions that mango’s ripened with carbide have a uniform yellow colour. Such fruit are not ripe on the inside and is not sweet. Here is a link that describes how to detect a carbide-ripened mango. Hold a lit match stick near the mango surface. If it gives out sparks or catches fire then its quite likely to have been ripened using calcium carbide.
There are still few more days for the Alphonso season. Thereafter there are many other varieties each with it a unique flavour. Try them and continue to enjoy the fruit at its natural peak season.
Enjoy!
Ochna and other beauties…
Ooooo how beautiful!
Ooooo how strange!!
Two flowers that I have seen commonly evoke such
reactions- the Glory Lily and Ochna. I wont go into the botanical details of
these, suffice to say that in both these their sepals or petals arch backwards
as the flower matures and totally change their colour and appearance. The glory
lily is particularly stunning. Here are some photographs.
reactions- the Glory Lily and Ochna. I wont go into the botanical details of
these, suffice to say that in both these their sepals or petals arch backwards
as the flower matures and totally change their colour and appearance. The glory
lily is particularly stunning. Here are some photographs.
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| Glory lily |
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| The lovely Ochna blooms in this manner for about a day. The following days are a marvel to watch… |
Here is a glimpse of the changing Ochna over a period of about one month.
King of fruits
Can there be any one fruit that can be crowned ‘King’ among its brethren? For us here in Maharashtra, there is not much of a contest really! And the title goes to…
Mango…. Alphonso mangoes to be precise. Though botanically all types of mangoes (and there are several – each variety is of a different size/taste and ripens at different times) go by the same name Mangifera indica
The Mango is a summer fruit that first puts in an appearance sometime in late February in its raw form. The green paisley shaped fruit is devoured raw, added to foods, chutneys to lend a unique sour taste or made into a refreshing drink called Panha. The ripe fruit (and I refer to the Alphonso variety) are usually available by end April and subject to the flowering and weather conditions earlier in a year, the produce is available all through May.
Like all fruits it can be consumed raw but it can be added to many dishes to lend its own unique flavour. Icecream, Milk shakes, Kulfi, Shrikhand, Sooji halwa (semolina), even rice and stuffed rotis (flat indian bread made with wheat flour) are just a few examples and the only bar will be the Chef’s creativity!
Make sure you eat mangoes this summer, not just any mango, the Alphonso!
And ignore calorie counting if you want to truly enjoy it.
Justicia wynaadensis
Justicia wynaadensis.. does that sound like Greek or Latin to you? Well, you are partially right because it is the botanical name (these are usually latinised versions) of a plant called madd toppu in the Coorg region of India’s Karnataka state.
In Coorg, leaves of this plant are said to hold maximal medicinal properties on the eighteenth day of the Kakkada month of the Kodava calender (may be in July or August). This is the festival called Kakkada Padinett. On this day, madd toppu leaves are said to emit a strange sweet unique fragrance which is not evident a day prior or after that. They are plucked and made into cakes or sweet porridge. You can read more about it here.
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| Madd toppu |
Coorg or Kodava cuisine has some wonderful and distinctive preparations. Do try to sample them when you visit Coorg.
Enjoy!
Bark of the matter
The Bentham and Hooker system classifies plants based on the structure of their flowers. In the field, there are several tips whereby its possible to study the flower and identify the Family that the plant belongs to. More ‘homework’ may be required to pinpoint the name.
However problems arise when faced with an unknown tree which is not in bloom as then identification becomes difficult.
Some plants have distinctive leaves and some have peculiar trunks/barks which makes them easy to identify or helps you shortlist some names even if you don’t see their flowers. e.g. Arjun, Gorakh chincha…
While this sounds easy, believe me, its not. I know of Botanists who end up confused when faced with a young specimen or need to carry twigs, leaves back from the wild to civilisation to refer to their journals, Google Baba, herbariums etc for a precise name.
However problems arise when faced with an unknown tree which is not in bloom as then identification becomes difficult.
Some plants have distinctive leaves and some have peculiar trunks/barks which makes them easy to identify or helps you shortlist some names even if you don’t see their flowers. e.g. Arjun, Gorakh chincha…
While this sounds easy, believe me, its not. I know of Botanists who end up confused when faced with a young specimen or need to carry twigs, leaves back from the wild to civilisation to refer to their journals, Google Baba, herbariums etc for a precise name.
This post is dedicated to amazing tree trunks that I have seen over the last year or so. These are just a few out of zillions. Its not meant to be a lesson in botany– far from it. Its just a weak attempt at capturing the wonders in Mother Nature…
Enjoy…
Archana
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| The matti tree- The water maker. When the top layer is cut, water surges out almost as if from a pipe. This water can be consumed. |
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| Elephants scrape off the bark of the Matti tree to get water |
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| Orange coloured bark of Silver Oak inside coffee estates in Coorg, India. They seem to be up to five-six storey high… |
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| A supposedly 20 million year tree fossil in Lalbaugh, Bangalore |
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| Ficus nervosa a.k.a Loth A person can easily stand inside the gap seen above. |
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| The creeper Entada has a convoluted, grotesque looking trunk |
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| Raktakanchan- red sap from its bark |
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| Bursera – its bark has a very fragrant oily discharge |
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| Coffee trees have crooked knobly stems and the trees can live for over 100 years |
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| Bark of Undi- Calophyllum inophyllum |
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| Strangler vines inside Dubare reserve forest |
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| Rough bark of Prosopis elengi (Shami)- grows easily in Rajasthan |
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| Salai (Boswellia serrata). Its bark peels off as papery whitish layers and a green layer can be seen underneath. Several trees on Vetal tekdi, Pune usually found growing near Moi (Lannea coromandelica) |
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| Massive bamboos- up to six stories high- die after flowering |
Floral Feast
The last few weeks have taken me away from my workdesk which explains the long interval from my last post. I came across several beautiful plants, trees and flowers during my journeys making me wonder if I should contemplate another work change!!
I am not a shutterbug but these images do capture their amazing colours and shapes.
Here are some of the beauties for you. I could identify some, some are for you to identify…
A feast for your eyes!
I am not a shutterbug but these images do capture their amazing colours and shapes.
Here are some of the beauties for you. I could identify some, some are for you to identify…
A feast for your eyes!
(Tip: you can click on any one image to watch a slide show- however the captions may not be visible there)
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| Hazari mogra |
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| Glory Lilly |
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| Rose apple blooming |
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| Coral tree |
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| Is this golden Jacobena |
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| Heliconium |
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| Test yourself: name this tree… |
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| One more test… |
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| Commonly called Brahma kamal: Epiphylum oxypetalum |
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| Passion Flower |