Yes it is Pastinaca sativa, grown in Unani Section of KUBG. I have got it verified. New for our database.
Dr. Gurcharan Singh Retired Associate Professor SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018. Phone: 011-25518297 Mob: 9810359089 http://www.gurcharanfamily.com/ http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ On Sun, Dec 11, 2016 at 6:28 PM, [email protected] < [email protected]> wrote: > Cultivated parsnips are one of my favourite vegetables. Stewart does not > list this plant in his 'Annotated Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of > Pakistan & Kashmir' > (even under its synonym Peucedanum sativum). According to 'Flora of > British Isles' Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is a native scattered > throughout England & locally abundant at roadsides and grassy waste places > but I don't recollect coming across it. A Checklist of the plants of > Buckinghamshire (the county I live in according to old boundaries) says it > is uncommon at roadsides & old grassland on calcareous soils (which we do > not have locally). > > Interestingly, in 'Flora of Berkshire' (2005) the county my home is now > in, local government-wise, says there has been a major increase in > abundance following the construction of motorways, though still absent over > a considerable part of the county. Based on 'Flora of Buckinghamshire' > (1926) it is not found where I live. > > In Scotland and Ireland it is only found as an escape from cultivation. > It occurs in Europe except in the extreme north and Portugal, eastwards to > the Caucasus and Altai, *so not a native to the Himalaya*. So Stewart > appears to have been correct, though would have expected him to list it, if > commonly cultivated. Introduced in N&S America, Australia and New Zealand. > > Parsnip is not listed in A PROFILE of The Kashmir University Botanical > Garden (2007), so perhaps a new addition or overlooked? > > So is it Pastinaca sativa? Apiaceae as the family is now know (previously > Umbelliferae) is not an easy family identification-wise. Sometimes MATURE > fruits are required to confirm an identification. > > I have a copy of the Botanical Society of British Isles Handbook No. 2 on > 'Umbellifers of the British Isles'. Published back in 1980 it is somewhat > out-of-date. Not all the line drawings show good detail. However, it is > worth quoting the author's (Tutin) *observation about the difficulty in > describing shape, dissection, margin, apex, venation, texture etc. in a > clear and unambiguous way. "The eye can learn to appreciate and recognize > the sum total of these characters while the pen remains baffled; Smell even > less describable, is also often diagnostic".* > > I would have been able to recognise a strong smell of parsnip but I am not > aware of how much this root vegetable is used in Indian cooking? Two > subspecies are recognised in Britain sativa (probably an escape from > cultivation in most, not all locations) and sylvestris. I have also come > across subsp. hortensis. > > In general appearance is does appear close to Parsnip. The fruits are not > mature/ripe so cannot match them with certainty. Cannot, at present think > what is else it could be and Professor Singh may well know the familiar > smell of Parsnips. > > *As I have posted previously, wouldn't it be great if we could dispense > with complicated floras and keys, close our eyes and IDENTIFY PLANTS BY > SMELL ALONE! Though there would still, no doubt be disagreements and > misidentifications dependent upon experience, skill and sensory powers.* > > *I am partially red-green colour-blind and often struggle describing > subtle colours, whilst my Britisher travelling companion in Kashmir in 1985 > had no sense of smell......* > > > > On Sunday, December 11, 2016 at 10:30:41 PM UTC, Gurcharan Singh wrote: > >> Pastinaca sativa, parsnip plant for validation >> Photographed from Kashmir University Botanical Garden, >> July 11, 2013. >> >> If confirmed it should be first representation in our database. >> >> Dr. Gurcharan Singh >> Retired Associate Professor >> SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 >> Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018. >> Phone: 011-25518297 <011%202551%208297> Mob: 9810359089 <098103%2059089> >> http://www.gurcharanfamily.com/ >> http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ >> > -- > 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]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group. 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