Thank you Garg Sir for the initiative. Many many thanks to Dr. Chris for elaborating on the genus *Marsilea*.
It's sort of another 'eye-opening' learning that *Marsilea quadrifolia*does not occur in our country. Yet so many 'papers' are getting published each year assessing the medicinal properties of *Marsilea quadrifolia* in our country, some are as latest as this one - http://www.isca.in/MEDI_SCI/Archive/v1i1/2.ISCA-IRJMedS-2013-006.pdf! Regards, surajit On Fri, Apr 5, 2013 at 9:53 AM, J.M. Garg <[email protected]> wrote: > A reply: > "Well it sometimes takes a long time for later research work to become > generally known. First M. quadrifolia does NOT occur in India (apart from > some cultures in Universities etc.) - it is mainly a European species, as > has been known now since two or three decades. It is distinguished quite > easily by the sorocarps arising from a short way up the leaf pedicel, not > in the axil where the pedicell meets the basal stem as in Indian species. > All the reports from India, Pakistan etc., which basicly go back to 19th > Century alpha-taxonomy, turned out on investigation to be either sterile > plants - which are unidentifiable - or mistakes. > The usual mistake is for the very widespread and common Indian species, M. > minuta (syn.: M. crenata), with the sorocarps arising at the axil. There > are two other species in peninsular India, and any number of forms of M. > minuta have been described, sometimes as species. > Finally, no Marsilea can be identified from photographs that do not show > close-up details of the sorocarps - thus although I can wager that the > plants in the photos are presumably M. minuta, they can't actually be > identified as such until we can see the sorocarps - which generally develop > when the plant grows out of the water on land and becomes much smaller. > I wonder if people know the interesting story of the Australian species > called there "Nardoo grass" (from a place name), which is a Marsilea, I > think perhaps M. drummondii, a large species with densely hairy leaves. The > European settlers found that the Aboriginees, perfectly in balance with > their surrounding natural environment, ate it and survived harsh times from > using it as a food stuff - and a number of settlers attempted at various > times to follow suit. But they did not know that like tapioca etc. it must > be well boiled first, as otherwise it contains a strong alkaloid poison [I > hope I have the details right] - which resulted in numbers of deaths of > explorers and settlers. > Maybe one has to identify which one it is, as a first priority - which > brings me back to the point that we need to see those little sorocarps! > Best wishes from the BM, London. > Chris Fraser-Jenkins. " > Thanks, Drt. Chris. > > > On 4 April 2013 16:58, J.M. Garg <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Forwarding again for Id assistance please. >> >> Some earlier relevant feedback: >> >> These small* fern *plants are of unusual appearance and do not resemble >> common ferns. Common names are water clover and four-leaf clover. Leaves >> are either held above water or submerged. A most useful plant for creating >> a dense green cover as foreground for the aquarium .- from Mahadeswara ji. >> >> We eat this fern as a vegetable and call it as SUSHNI-SHAK in Bengali - >> http://en.bdfish.org/2013/01/water-clover-marsilea-sp/ >> Regards, >> surajit >> >> efi site links: Marsilea >> minuta<https://sites.google.com/site/efloraofindia/species--ferns/m---z/m/marsileaceae/marsilea/marsilea-minuta> >> & >> Marsilea quadrifolia >> ?<https://sites.google.com/site/efloraofindia/species--ferns/m---z/m/marsileaceae/marsilea/marsilea-quadrifolia> >> >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: surajit koley <[email protected]> >> Date: 23 March 2013 23:25 >> Subject: [efloraofindia:149800] Hooghly Today : Marsilea sp. >> To: efloraofindia <[email protected]> >> >> >> Sir, >> >> Bengal Plants gives key to two *Marsilea* species - >> >> (i) Pedicels adnate to the base of the petiole ------- *quadrifoliata* >> (ii) Pedicels quite free from the petioles ------- *minuta* >> * >> * >> FoNA <http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=119753>keys >> in - >> >> (i) roots both at nodes and sparsely (1-3) along internodes ------ * >> quadrifolia* >> (ii) others >> >> Regards, >> surajit >> >> -- >> >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "efloraofindia" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> With regards, >> J.M.Garg >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jmgarg1 >> 'Creating awareness of Indian Flora & Fauna' >> The whole world uses my Image Resource of more than a *thousand species*& >> eight thousand images of Birds, Butterflies, Plants etc. (arranged >> alphabetically & place-wise): >> http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:J.M.Garg. You can also use >> them for free as per Creative Commons license attached with each image. >> For identification, learning, discussion & documentation of Indian Flora, >> please visit/ join our Efloraofindia Google e-group (largest in the world): >> http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix (more than 2065 members & >> 1,47,500 messages on 28/2/13) or Efloraofindia website: >> https://sites.google.com/site/efloraofindia/ (with a species database >> of more than 8000 species). >> Also author of 'A Photoguide to the Birds of Kolkata & Common Birds of >> India'. >> > > > > -- > With regards, > J.M.Garg > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jmgarg1 > 'Creating awareness of Indian Flora & Fauna' > The whole world uses my Image Resource of more than a *thousand species*& > eight thousand images of Birds, Butterflies, Plants etc. (arranged > alphabetically & place-wise): > http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:J.M.Garg. You can also use > them for free as per Creative Commons license attached with each image. > For identification, learning, discussion & documentation of Indian Flora, > please visit/ join our Efloraofindia Google e-group (largest in the world): > http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix (more than 2065 members & > 1,47,500 messages on 28/2/13) or Efloraofindia website: > https://sites.google.com/site/efloraofindia/ (with a species database > of more than 8000 species). > Also author of 'A Photoguide to the Birds of Kolkata & Common Birds of > India'. > -- --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
