Huge smiles ...

Botanical name: Cucurbita maxima

Giant Pumpkin is an annual climber growing up to 5 m at a fast rate. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. Fruit is cooked and eaten. A delicious flavour when baked, rather like a sweet potato. The flesh can be dried, ground into a powder and used with cereals in making bread, cakes etc. Some varieties can be stored for up to 9 months. Seed - raw or cooked. The seed can also be ground into a powder and used with cereals in making breads etc. Young flowers are eaten raw or cooked. They are often dipped in batter and fried. Young leaves and stems are cooked and eaten. I took this photograph while on a trip to my native place on 19th December 2011.

To cure you ...

Botanical name: Justicia adhatoda

Malabar nut is a small evergreen, sub-herbacious bush which grows commonly in open plains, especially in the lower Himalayas. The Leaves are 10 to 16 cms in length, minutely hairy and broadly lanceolate. A herbal plant which requires very little watering and is an extremely hardy plant is Malabar nut. If there is one herbal plant that needs to be singled out for propagation and planting on a large scale, it would be this one. Adhatoda in Tamil, meaning a plant shunned by herbivorous animals. Propagated easily by cuttings, grows to a height of eight to 14 feet and has attractive white flowers. This photograph was taken from my colleagues home in Mysore, on 24th April, 2010.

Silent and sedate ...

Botanical name: Allmania nodiflora

Node flower allmania is an annual herb, erect or rising, 10-50 cm tall. Stem is branched from or near base. Petiole 2-10 mm; Leaves are obovate, oblong, or linear, 1.5-6.5 mm long, 0.3-2.5 cm wide, carried on 2-10 mm long stalks. Flower-heads are globose, becoming somewhat elongated, with 3-7-flowered cymes. Flowers can be greenish or orange-red. Bracts and bracteoles are ovate-lanceolate, 3-5 mm, white on margin and with green or purple midvein, apex long acuminate. Tepals obliquely spreading at opening, later erect, ovate-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 4-5 mm. Fruits are enclosed in persistent perianth, pale green, ovoid, 3-3.5 mm in diameter, opening by lid. Seeds are 1.5-2 mm in diam. While on a floral exploration within the campus where i work presently, it just happened that a small plant bearing this single flower attracted my attention and without knowing its common name of scientific name i snapped its picture on 10th September, 2011.

All along your way ...

 

Botanical name: Thevetia peruviana

Mexican oleander is a large shrub or a small tree, up to 10 to 20 feet tall with Oleander-like leaves mostly in whorls of three, long and narrow up to 10 inches long. Tip of leafs are pointed with a dark green color. Flowers are generally yellow, but there are varieties with white and orange flowers too. Fruit is small, containing two to four flat seeds. If ingested may experience pain in the mouth and lips, may also develop vomiting, cramping, abdominal pain, nausea and bradycardia shortly after ingestion. Mexican oleander is native to tropical America. There are cream, yellow and flesh colour bushes. In many parts of south India this is commonly seen. In the Mysore city, this shrub can be seen in many residential areas all along the road side. This photograph was taken today on the way to my office.

Webbing your attention ...

Botanical name: Hymenocallis littoralis 

Spider lily or beach spider lily is a truly amazing plant that can tolerate the broadest possible range of growing conditions. It can grow in water, in wet boggy areas, as well as dry areas. The lovely white flowers have long narrow reflexed petals behind a central cup. Several flowers are carried on each sturdy 70-90 cm stem. Stamen filaments are green and narrow petals have a thin membrane between them, which probably explains the origin of its scientific name. I took this photograph on 1st May 2012 near a street adjacent to my present stay at Mysore. My daughter was my companion in this expedition to shoot this flower. Thanks to her.

Red salute ...

Botanical name: Delonix regia

May flower, Flame tree, royal poinciana or Gulmohar (Hindi) was discovered in the early 19th century in its native Madagascar by botanist Wensel Bojer. Gulmohar is a flamboyant tree in flower - some say the world's most colorful tree. For several weeks in spring and summer it is covered with exuberant clusters of flame-red flowers, 4-5 in across. Even up close the individual flowers are striking: they have four spoon shaped spreading scarlet or orange-red petals about 3 in long, and one upright slightly larger petal (the standard) which is marked with yellow and white. The delicate, fern-like leaves are composed of small individual leaflets, which fold up at the onset of dusk. Gulmohar gets 30-40 ft tall, but its elegant wide-spreading umbrella-like canopy can be wider than its height. Gumohar is naturalized in India and is widely cultivated as a street tree. This photograph was taken from the CSRTI, Mysore campus on 13th April, 2012.

Prominently in a garden ...

Botanical name: Crinum amabile

The presence of giant spider lily cannot be ignored in any garden. Dark green strap-like leaves may be more than 3 feet long by 4 inches wide. Flowers are shaped like tubes that flair open into a crown of narrow petals. The petals are white with a pink longitudinal stripe on the underside. Red and pink fragrant flowers sit atop a succulent, cylindrical flower stalk that is 1 to 3 feet tall.  A 6-inch-long floral tube bears 6 petals and sepals, and rosy stamens from the throat of this tube. These striking, fragrant flowers appear most abundantly in the spring,summer and fall seasons of the year. This flower was taken on 24th January, 2012 from Lalbagh, Bangalore.