Nepal Barberry is an erect evergreen shrub to 3 m, with stout little-branched stems and large pinnate leaves borne at the ends of the stems. Flowers are yellow, in a at branch-ends cluster of several or many dense many-flowered spikes, 10-25 cm long. Petals about 6 mm, notched. Leaves oblong-lanceshaped. to 40 cm, with 4-7 pairs of stiff. slightly overlapping ovate leaflets with spiny marginal teeth and pointed apices; leaflets largest in the middle of the leaf, 6-9 crn long. Fruit in dense cylindrical clusters; berries purple-blue, round, strongly bloomed, 8-9 mm across. Nepal Barberry is found in the Himalayas, from W. Nepal to Bhutan, NE India, at altitudes of 2000-2900 m, and Southern Western Ghats. Flowering: 0ctober-April.
In the Nilgiris, it is of religious and medicinal importance to the native Toda people of Tamil Nadu, who call it “Thovari” in their language. They use a paste made of the bark as a Traditional medicine remedy for women immediately after childbirth.
Berberis napaulensis (DC.) Spreng. A. Bark, B. Ventral surface of leaf, C. Dorsal surface of leaf, D. Densed flowered Spike, E., F. Flower bud
Small tree, 4 – 6 m high; branches and branchlets subterete or obtusely 4-angular; young parts densely yellowish stellate-pubescent; nodes slightly swollen;internodes 4-5 cm long. Leaves broadly ovate or ovate-elliptic, cordate, obtuse or even acute at base, subentire or minutely serrate along margins, acuminate at apex, 15-30 x 8 – 20 cm, subcoriaceous, dark green, rugose, glabrous above, densely stellate-tomentose beneath; lateral nerves 6-9 pairs, ascending, arcuateat margin, distinct beneath; petioles stout, cylindric, 2.5 – 9 cm long, densely, tomentose. Cymes axillary, bipartite or 2-forked; peduncles stout, 1 – 1.5 cm long, densely yellowish pubescent; bracts linear or subulate, ca 4 mm long; pedicels, ca 1 mm long. Calyx cupular, ca 1.5 x 1 mm, obscurely 4-toothed, stellate-pubescent outside. Corolla infundibular, reddish purple or purple, 4-lobed; lobesovate, entire, obtuse, recurved, ca 2 x 1 mm, glabrous; tube narrow, ca 2 x 1mm, ampliate towards apex. Stamens 4, inserted below corolla tube; filaments filiform, exserted, 4 – 6 mm long; anthers oblong, ca 2 x 1 mm, cream-coloured. Ovary globose, ca 1 mm, hirsute; style slender, recurved, 6 – 8 mm long, glabrous; stigma capitate. Drupes globose, 3 – 4 mm, deep purple black when mature, 2 -4-seeded.
Flowering & Fruiting: December – July.
Habitat: Slopes in deciduous, evergreen to semievergreen forests, up to 1400 m. especially towards edges of secondary forests and shola border; uncommon.
Distribution.: INDIA: Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil
Nadu, Himachal Pradesh.
BANGLADESH, BHUTAN, BURMA, INDONESIA, MALAYSIA, NEPAL.
NEW GUINEA, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, SRI LANKA and THAILAND
Uses: Wood suitable for carving. Decoction of the bark used for skin troubles, hepatic obstructions and fever. Leaves boiled in milk are used as a wash for aphthae of the mouth (Ambasta, 1.c.). Specimens examined: GOA: Goa border from Annod, 5.11.1962, R.S. Rao.
(a)Dorsal surface of leaf, (b) Ventral surface of leaf, (e) and (f) Dorsal and ventral surface with subentire or minutely serrate along margins, (c) and (d) densely stellate-tomentose on pedicel and peduncle, (g), (h) and (i) dissected single flower with four anthers, two carpels, (j), (k) and (l) Flower bud and axillary Cymes 2-forked inflorescence.
Nervilia simplex tuber is subglobose to ovoid, 1 – 2 cm across, whitish, sparsely covered with root-knobes. Just one leaf produce annually; lamina 2.5−4 × 2.5−5 cm, reniform to suborbicular, shallowly crenate, acute, deeply cordate at base, herbaceous, abaxially pale green, adaxially green with fine white reticulate venation, sparsely setulose throughout, with 7 main veins; petiole erect, 2 − 5 cm long. Peduncle produced from top of bulb, erect, 4 − 7 cm long, green, with 2−3 tubular scarious sheaths, bearing one nodding flower; floral bract small, ovate-lanceolate, acute. Flowers opening widely, resupinate, 2−4 cm across; sepals (outer tepals) yellowish green with faint grey lines, lanceolate, 2–2.5 × 0.12–0.25 cm, acute to acuminate; petals (inner tepals) creamy white, narrowly lanceolate, 1.8–2.3 × 0.1–0.2 cm; lip strongly reflexed above middle, creamy white, mid lobe light purple fringed and white at base, with a yellowish patch at centre, rhombic, 1.5–1.8 × 0.8–1.3 cm when flattened, spurless, entire or 3-lobed, loosely embracing the column; apical margin irregularly lacerate or fimbriate; disk with papillose ridge extending from base to apex; column clavate, 0.6 – 0.8 cm long, apex dilated; stigma suborbicular. Fruit-stalk c. 17 cm long; capsules 1 – 1.5 × 0.5 cm; tepals partially covering the capsule even after drying.
Flowering: May – June.
Habitat: Terrestrial, growing in open forest floor covered with dry pine-needles, 300 – 1500 m.
Distribution: India [Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and now in Himachal Pradesh], Nepal, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Indo-China, New Guinea, Africa, Australia
Nervilia simplex (Thouars) Schltr. A, B. Plants in habitat, C. Close up view of leaves, D. Close up view of flower, E. Plant with inflorescence and tuber, F. Inflorescence, G. Dorsal view of lip, H. Column, I. Ventral view of Petal, J. Perigone; K, L. Resupinate inflorescence. (Photos by Rimjhim)Distribution map of Nervilia simplex (Thouars) Schlechter in Western Himalaya [drawn using the software QGIS 3.4.11 Madeira].
Tuber subglobose to ovoid, 1 – 2 cm across, whitish, sparsely covered with root-knobes. Just one leaf produce annually; lamina 2.5−4 × 2.5−5 cm, reniform to suborbicular, shallowly crenate, acute, deeply cordate at base, herbaceous, abaxially pale green, adaxially green with fine white reticulate venation, sparsely setulose throughout, with 7 main veins; petiole erect, 2 − 5 cm long. Peduncle produced from top of bulb, erect, 4 − 7 cm long, green, with 2−3 tubular scarious sheaths, bearing one nodding flower; floral bract small, ovate-lanceolate, acute. Flowers opening widely, resupinate, 2−4 cm across; sepals (outer tepals) yellowish green with faint grey lines, lanceolate, 2–2.5 × 0.12–0.25 cm, acute to acuminate; petals (inner tepals) creamy white, narrowly lanceolate, 1.8–2.3 × 0.1–0.2 cm; lip strongly reflexed above middle, creamy white, mid lobe light purple fringed and white at base, with a yellowish patch at centre, rhombic, 1.5–1.8 × 0.8–1.3 cm when flattened, spurless, entire or 3-lobed, loosely embracing the column; apical margin irregularly lacerate or fimbriate; disk with papillose ridge extending from base to apex; column clavate, 0.6 – 0.8 cm long, apex dilated; stigma suborbicular. Fruit-stalk c. 17 cm long; capsules 1 – 1.5 × 0.5 cm; tepals partially covering the capsule even after drying.
Flowering: May – June.
Habitat: Terrestrial, growing in open forest floor covered with dry pine-needles, 300 – 1500 m.
Many Flowered Fox Brush Orchid is a beautiful, fragrant, foxtail orchid, native to Eastern Himalayas and SE Asia at altitudes of sea-level to 1100 m. It is a small to medium sized, single-stemmed orchid with a stout, many leafed stem. Leaves are strap-shaped, curved, bilobed at the tip. Flowers arise on a rarely branched, 1 ft long, pendulous, many (up to 50) flowered inflorescence. Flowers are waxy and fragrant. Flowering: May-July.
In 1820, William Roxburgh published a description of Aerides multiflora. In 1882, João Barbosa Rodrigues published a description of a very different plant under the name of Epidendrum geniculatum. Eight years later, in 1890, Joseph Dalton Hooker published a description of an orchid now recognized as Aerides multiflora Roxb. and named it Epidendrum geniculatum. Thus, Epidendrum geniculatum Barb.Rodr. is a very different taxon from Epidendrum geniculatumHook.f., a synonym for Aerides multifloraRoxb., the subject of this article.
References:
Many Flowered Fox Brush Orchid, Flower of India, http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Many%20Flowered%20Fox%20Brush%20Orchid.html.
Manoranjitham, the climbing ylang-ylang, is a shrub found in India through to Burma, southern China and Taiwan, having flowers that are renowned for their exotic fragrance.n It is also called ylang-ylang vine or tail grape in English, with various names in other languages. The yellow-coloured flowers of this plant are very fragrant. The flowers are greenish in the beginning and turn yellow with age and the flowers are long-lasting with a fruity pleasant smell. When young it is a shrub that turns into a climber once attains a height of about 2 meters.
Also known by its common name in India as “Manorangini”, Hari Champa has an intoxicating fragrance! This species is native to India and tropical Asia. A medium size climbing shrub 8-10 ft, producing flowers that are greenish and fade to yellow with age, and are extremely fragrant. Once picked they are very long-lasting and hold their scent for days, if kept in water, permeating an entire room. Flowers have three outer and three inner greenish-yellow petals – hence the name hexapetalus. It is a fruity sweet smell – the Manipuri name Chini Champra, meaning sugar lemon, is indicative of that. Narrowly elliptical leaves, 6-15 cm long, 2-4.5 cm wide, are usually 3-4 times as long as wide, acute or almost so at the base, short-acuminate at the tip, not glossy. Lateral veins are 8-16 pairs. Fruits are 3-4 cm long when ripe, oval and smooth. When young, this climber grows just like a regular shrub but at 5-6 ft, will start to vine. It is not an aggressive vine.
Location: Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Photograph Clicked on 21 June 2020.
References:
Hari Champa, Flowers of India, http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Hari%20Champa.html.
Rough Yellow Balsam is a plant closely similar to the Three-Horned Balsam but with smaller flowers. Lower sepal is boat-shaped or funnel-shaped, 9-12 mm long, 5.5-8 mm deep (excluding the spur), tapering into a long upwardly or downwardly curved spur. Spur is 1.7-2.5 cm in overall length. Flowers are golden-yellow, up to 2.5 cm deep. Lateral sepals 2, round, finely velvet-hairy on veins, 5-veined. Upper petal is round, lower midvein crested; lateral united petals not clawed, 2-lobed; basal lobes round; distal lobes oblong-dolabriform; ear inflexed, narrow. It is an annual herb, 30-80 cm tall, sparsely or densely velvet-hairy. Stem is erect, robust, branched. Leaves are alternate; leaf-stalk 1-2.5 cm, with 2 large spherical basal glands; leaf blade lanceshaped or ovate-lanceshaped, 5-10 x 2-3.5 cm, both surfaces velvet-hairy, lateral veins 9-11 pairs, base wedge-shaped, narrowed into leaf-stalk, margin sawtoothed, tip tapering. Flowers are borne in short, (1 or)2-5-flowered clusters, carried on flower-cluster-stalks 5-15 mm. Flower-stalks are slender, bracteate at middle; bracts bristly or bristly-lanceshaped, hairy. Capsules are linear, 2.5-3 cm, hairy. Rough Yellow Balsam is found in forest understories, along canals, in the Himalayas, at altitudes of 2000-3100. Flowering: July-September.
The uniquely shaped flower of this exotic tropical perennial resembles a bird’s head, and due to it’s brilliant orange and blue colors and unique form, it resembles not just any bird but a bird-of-paradise! So not surprisely Strelitzia reginae is know as the bird-of-paradise flower. It’s other common name, crane flower, is another bow to its exotic avian shape. Fantastically handsome flowers aside, this is also a very attractive foliage plant. The paddle-shaped leathery leaves are about 8 inches long and 6 inches wide. Forming massive clumps 3 feet high bird-of-paradise lends a romatic tropical ambiance to the landscape.
Sickle Medick is an erect perennial herb with trifoliate leaves, and short rounded stalked clusters of small yellow pea-like flowers, each 8-11 mm long. Leaflets are generally narrow-oblong, 8-10 mm, toothed. Stems are 30-80 cm tall, much branched. Pod is strongly curved in a semi-circle, 1.3-2 cm long, inspiring the common name. Sickle Medick is found in the Himalayas, from Afghanistan to C. Nepal and Temperate Eurasia, at altitudes of 2700-4000 m. Flowering: May-August.
Three-Horned Balsam is an annual, erect herb, 30-80 cm tall, velvet-hairy. Leaves are alternate, evenly distributed along the stem, stalked or nearly stalkless in upper part of stem; leaf-stalk 5-25 mm long; blade herbaceous, broadly lanceshaped to ovate or elliptic, 3-11.5 x 1.5-4.3 cm, base narrowed, margin sawtoothed to rounded toothed-sawtoothed, tip tapering or pointed, rough on both surfaces. Flowers are borne in leaf-axils, with 1-3 (or 4) flowers. Flower-cluster-stalks are 8-15 mm long. Flower-stalks are 1-2 cm long with a bract at the middle. Bracts are narrowly ovate to linear, 3-6 mm long, tip pointed. Flowers are pale yellow or yellow with reddish brown dots, 2.5-3 cm long, 3-3.5 cm deep. Lateral sepals are 2, nearly round, about 1 cm long, with an awn at tip. Lower sepal is pale yellow shaded with dull orange, bucciniform, 1.5-1.8 cm long, 2.0-2.5 cm deep (excluding the spur), abruptly constricted into incurved spur. Spur is curved, 1.5-2.3 cm in overall length. Dorsal petal is pale yellow, 1.2-1.5 mm long, 1.4-1.8 mm wide when flattened, hoodlike, dorsally with a keel-like crest; crest 3-5 mm high. Lateral united petals are pale yellow, sometimes with brownish stripes, 2.5-3.0 cm long; upper lobe oblong to ovate, 1.3-1.5 cm long, 7-10 mm wide, tip slightly retuse to flat; lower lobe ovate to elliptic-ovate, 3-15 mm long, 6-8 mm wide, tip blunt. Stamens are 5, anthers without appendage. Fruit is 3-4 cm long. Flowering: May-September.
