Balkar ji and Tanay
I never knew I seem to be getting telepathy with Balkar ji also. For last
five six hours I was working on this manuscript. I can't wait sending it to
you although it is only 20 percent complete:
Journey towards eFlora of India: Small steps
Solanum
Some days back I had written to Tabish ji about status of our databases and
journey towards the preparation of eFlora of India. We seem to have reached
collecting some data concerning roughly 20 per cent of Indian Flora. A rich
eFlora should have a few photographs of each species (the major strength of
our eFlora project), descriptions of species (already a part of Flowers of
India, but some elaboration needed), Correct nomenclature status (partially
achieved, authorities and references need be entered). Our databases also
have added strength of having local names of plants in different languages.
To my mind two major activities need to be undertaken:
1. Preparation of list of species under each genus reported in India
(wild as well as cultivated) so that members can focus on the remaining
species and upload their photographs to ensure complete representation of
each genus.
2. To prepare easy identification keys for the species reported from
India, to help members and surfers easy identification of species
The situation with regard to present documentation of Indian Flora is that
we still have to depend on regional Floras, and older these get, less
reliable they become. There is no better example than the genus Solanum,
which has been focus of our attention periodically and recently enthusiastic
efforts of Yazdy ji (who says that only trained taxonomists, with sound
knowledge of technical details only can contribute to our floristic
knowledge; Garg ji, Dinesh ji, Tabish ji and several other veterans have
already proved that) and Raghu ji uploading many photographs. I begin with
this genus building up taxonomic status of species, and request other
members to suggest improvements so that we know species representation in
our subcontinent.
*HERBACEOUS SPECIES*
*A.** **Herbs without prickles*
1. Solanum nigrum L. var. nigrum: Mature berries black, globose, 8-10
mm across; peduncles almost twice as long as pedicels; fruiting calyx
appressed to fruit; corolla 8-10 mm across; anthers 2.5-3.5 mm long.
2. Solanum villosum (L.) Moench. (syn: Solanum nigrum L. var. villosum
L.; eFlora of Pak.; S. alatum Moench.; S. luteum Mill; S. miniatum Bernh. Ex
Willd.; s. nigrum auct. (non L.)): Mature berries orange to orange-red,
ovoid, 6-8 mm across; peduncles shorter than or equaling pedicels; anthers 2
mm long.
3. Solanum americanum Mill. (syn: S. nigrum sensu Trimen Handb. Fl.
Ceylone 3: 231, 1895): Mature berries black, globose, 5-8 mm across;
peduncle twice as long as pedicels; fruiting calyx spreading; corolla 3-5 mm
across; anthers 1-1.5 mm long.
4. Solanum lycopersicum L. (syn: Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.):
Leaves pinnate compound; flowers yellow; calyx enlarging in fruit.
5. Solanum tuberosus L. Potato: plants tuberous; leaves pinnate;
flowers white or purplish
*B.** **Herbs with Prickles*
6. Solanum mammosum L. : densely hairy and prickly herb; flowers
mauve; fruits ovoid-oblong, 4-7 cm long, yellow, pointed, with several lobes
near base
7. Solanum sisymbrifolium Lam.: Prickly herb, leaves deeply pinnately
lobed; flowers white; fruit bright red, globose, 1-1.5 cm, enclosed in
prickly calyx.
*C.** **Climbers without prickles*
8. Solanum laxum Spreng (syn: S. jasminoides Paxt.): Leaves simple,
sometimes lobed at base; flowers white or tinged blue
9. Solanum seaforthianum Andr. (syn: S. venustum Kunth): Leaves
pinnate; flowers lilac; fruits small, globose, bright red.
*D.** **Climbers with prickles*
10. Solanum wendlandii Hook.f.: Leaves pinnate, prickles curved; flowers
lilac, 5-6 cm across; fruit globose.
*E.** **Shrubs without prickles*
11. Solanum pseudo-capsicum L.: Leaves narrow-oblong to oblanceolate,
entire; peduncle almost absent; fls 1-3 together, white, 1-1.5 cm across,;
fruit 1-2 cm across, scarlet or orange.
12. Solanum diphyllum L.: Leaves elliptic , in unequal pairs; peduncle
distinct 3-12 mm long; flowers more than 3, white, 4-6 mm across; fruit
erect, orange, 7-12 mm across, slightly bilobed.
*F.** **Herbs with woody base armed or unarmed*
13. Solanum melanogena L.
--
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://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/
On Sat, Jun 12, 2010 at 8:32 PM, tanay bose <[email protected]> wrote:
> Will try
> tanay
>
>
> On Sat, Jun 12, 2010 at 8:20 PM, Balkar Arya <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Dear Tanay
>> Can you prepare a comparative chart of all solanum sps posted in our group
>> with photos for all of us for clear cut identification?
>>
>>
>> Regards
>>
>>
>> Dr Balkar Singh
>> Head, Deptt. of Botany and Biotechnology
>> Arya P G College, Panipat
>> Haryana-132103
>> 09416262964
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Tanay Bose
> +91(033) 25550676 (Resi)
> 9830439691(Mobile)
>
>
>
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"efloraofindia" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected].
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix?hl=en.
