Centratherum punctatum Cassini

   Centratherum punctatum Cassini

Family : Asteraceae

Botanical Name : Centratherum punctatum Cass. subsp. punctatum

Common name : Brazilian button Flower

Stems erect, 10-70 cm tall.

Altitudinal range from 400-740 m. Found on the edges of vine forest and rainforest and in some drier types of open forest and woodland and roadsides.

Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, Greater Antilles (Puerto Rico), Mesoamerica, South America. Central America ,West Indies

Thorny Nightshade (Solanum virginianum)

കാന്താരി ചുണ്ട 

Common name: Thorny Nightshade, Yellow Berried Nightshade, Thai eggplant

Botanical name: Solanum virginianum   

Family: Solanaceae (Potato family)

Synonyms: Solanum surattense, Solanum xanthocarpum

Thorny Nightshade is a herb which is erect or creeping, sometimes woody at base, 50-70 cm tall, copiously armed with sturdy, needlelike, broad-based prickles 0.5-2 cm × 0.5-1.5 mm. Leaves are unequal paired; stalk 2-3.5 cm, prickly; leaf blade ovate-oblong, 4-9 × 2-4.5 cm, prickly along veins, margin usually 5-9-lobed or pinnately parted, lobes unequal, sinuate, apex acute. Inflorescences elongate racemes 4-7 cm. Sepal tube is bell-shaped 1 cm in diameter. Flowers blue-purple, 1.4-1.6 × 2.5 cm; petals ovate-deltate, 6-8 mm, densely pubescent with stellate hairs. Filaments 1 mm; anthers 8 mm. Style 1 cm. Fruiting pedicel 2-3.6 cm, with prickles and sparse stellate hairs. Fruiting sepals prickly, sparsely pubescent. Berry pale yellow, 1.3-2.2 cm in diameter. Flowering: November-May.

Medicinal uses:  Boiled decoction (കഷായം) of dry plant is prescribed for stomach and liver complaints

pic/2009 MH   

Clasping-Leaf Borage (Trichodesma inaequale)

Clasping-Leaf Borage

Botanical name: Trichodesma inaequale    

Family: Boraginaceae (Forget-me-not family)

Synonyms: Trichodesma amplexicaule

Clasping-Leaf Borage is an erect hairy herb with scattered hairs. Lower leaves are oppositely arranged, stalkless. linear-oblong. Upper ones are alternately arranged, heart-shaped, stem-clasping, broadly ovate, long pointed. Flowers appear singly, laterally on branches or opposite the leaves. Sepals are shortly and obtusely eared. Flowers are pale blue with rounded petals which are flat, with a point at the tip. Flower throat is hairy. Clasping-Leaf Borage found in Mumbai and neighbouring area. This flowers is closely similar to Indian Borage, but can be distinguished by two features - one, leaves are stem-clasping, they are only half-clasping in Indian Borage; two, the stamens do not protrude out, whereas in Indian Borage they protrude out.

Pic 2009/ MH,GUJ border 

Sweet Hibiscus or Sunset Hibiscus (Abelmoschus manihot)

Common name: Sweet Hibiscus, Edible Hibiscus, Manihot-mallow, Sunset Hibiscus, Yellow Hibiscus

Botanical name: Abelmoschus manihot   

Family: Malvaceae (Mallow family)

Synonyms: Hibiscus manihot

Sweet Hibiscus is characterized by big and glorious, 5-6 inch across, pale yellow Hibiscus type flowers with deep burgundy & garnet eyes. Growing to 5 feet tall, this stout and almost woody annual bears magnificent, tropical looking leaves, and so it looks cool even before it blooms mid-summer. There can be big differences in leaf shape, color and production and flavor but leaves are usually palmate, about 4 inches across. It grows very quickly. Cuttings taken in spring can reach over 2 meters by autumn in sub-tropical areas. While the large yellow flowers are very ornamental, the importance of this plant is that it is one of the world's most nutritious leafy vegetables because of its high protein content. The leaves are tender and sweet and can be served raw or steamed

pic2009 / Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

FUCHSIA (Fuchsia spp)

Fuchsia is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first, Fuchsia triphylla, was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (present day Dominican Republic and Haiti) in about 1696-1697 by the French Minim monk and botanist, Charles Plumier during his third expedition to the Greater Antilles. He named the new genus after the renowned German botanist Leonhart Fuchs (1501–1566)

(Dark reddish green, deep red or deep purple)

Botanical name: Fuchsia spp.

Family: Onagraceae (Evening primrose family)

The majority of fuchsia species are native to Central and South America. A small additional number are found on Hispaniola (two species), in New Zealand (three species) and on Tahiti (one species).

pic2009 / Nainital, Uttarakhand, India

Pink Coral Vine (Antigonon leptopus)

Pink Coral Vine 

Botanical name: Antigonon leptopus

Family: Polygonaceae (Knotweed family)

Habitat - Disturbed areas, roadsides, hammocks.

Description - Introduced category 2 invasive species, reaching lengths of 30 to 40 feet and climbing by tendrils. Cordate leaves are up to 4 inches long with entire, slightly undulate ( wavy ) margins. The upper leaf surface has recessed veins & wrinkled appearance.

photo/pune2009

Crape jasmine (Tabernaemontana divaricata) Nandyar vattom

Crape jasmine - Nandyar vattom

Botanical name: Tabernaemontana divaricata

Family: Apocynaceae (Oleander family)

Synonyms: Ervatamia divaricata, Nerium coronarium

Crape jasmine, a shrub very common in India, generally grows to a height of 6 ft. However, it can also grow into a small tree with a thin, crooked stem. Like many members of the Oleander family, stems exude a milky latex when broken. The large shiny leaves are deep green and are 6 or more inches in length and about 2 inches in width. Crape jasmine blooms in spring but flowers appear sporatically all year. The waxy blossoms are white five-petaled pinwheels that are borne in small clusters on the stem tips. Flowers are commonly used in pooja in north and south India.

Pic: Kerala, IND