Dear Neil... Please call me Usha... no Dr is necessary... I am learning here... and I grew up not using epithets nor titles... first name basis only... even bosses...
Spectacular pictures...never imagined I will see the flowers and bulbils together... thank you.. ... this is very nice, thank you... the only ones I recognized as having seen, eaten or otherwise familiar with are the Karanda, wild grapes, ghendal pata, and some unclassified Dioscorea I have only studied and seen sample seeds in a ziplock plastic bag at that...Mucuna pruriens.. when does it flower? and fruits? Do you ever collect them? I would love some seeds if you do... Ayurvedic material , u know... Usha di ======= On Tue, Aug 2, 2011 at 2:01 PM, Neil Soares <[email protected]> wrote: > Thank you Dr. Usha and Congratulations on being chosen ‘e-flora woman of > the month’! > > The photographs were all taken in their natural surroundings – none > are planted. > > **** ** > > Some of the climbers seen are : > > ** ** > > -Ampelocissus latifolia [Wild Grapes] > > -Mucuna pruriens [Common Cow-itch] > > -Wattakaka volubilis [Green Milkweed climber] > > -Dioscorea bulbifera > > -Dioscorea pentaphylla. > > -Calycopteris floribunda [Paper Flower climber, Ukshi] > > -Cissus repanda [Ghendal] > > -Dalbergia volubilis [****Alai**] > > -Cryptolepis buchnanai [Wax-leaved climber] > > -Zizyphus rugosa [Toran] > > -Cyclea sp. > > -Capparis zeylanica {Ceylon Caper] > > -Embelia basaal [Wavding] > > -Carissa congesta [Carvanda] > > The D.bulbifera do develop bilbils but have never eaten any though they > are much sought after by tribals. > Sending you a few photographs. > With regards, > Neil Soares. > --- On *Sun, 7/31/11, ushadi Micromini <[email protected]>* wrote: > > > > From: ushadi Micromini <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [efloraofindia:75472] Re: Giant Jewel Beetle feeding on Tendu > leaves > To: "Neil Soares" <[email protected]> > Cc: "efloraofindia" <[email protected]> > Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011, 11:29 AM > > Dear Neil: Thanks for sharing... > are these VINES volunteers or did you transplant/ plant 'em by design? > I would not know which is which... could you tell me, please? > DOES YOUR AIR POTATO PLANT DEVELOP the typical potaoes? > Have ever eaten them? > > I became interested in Dioscorea... as a tribe...while studying > ethnobotany of ne states of india including Assam, Bengal, > Tripura Nagaland etc...the genus is of utmost importance as > food to natives of ne hill states of India....as tubers..leaves > are all eaten, often as staples... > > But even before that, while studying western herbal medicine,. > became interested in Dioscorea .as sources of steroid diosgenin... > which in hands of industry is base for making synthetic > hormones.... but of cource you knew that.. and that one leaf > sort of reminded me of something I seen somewhere, there by > that initial question.... > > THE MORE MORE I READ ABOUT BOTANY OF INDIA.. > ITS BECOMING CLEARER BY THE DAY THAT THE > WESTERN GHATS HAVE A VERY DIVERSE and .. > HIGHLY EVOLVED BOTANICAL MIX... AND MANY > THINGS NOT IN OUR COLLECTIVE HORTICULTURAL > HABITS REMAIN TO BE " DISCOVERED" ANEW , ESP > WHEN WE CAN ALL BE ARMED WITH RECORDERS > AND DIGITAL CAMERAS...AND TALK TO EACH OTHER > SO RAPIDLY..!!! EXPONENTIALLY INCREASING OUR > COLLECTIVE KNOWLEDGE .... > > Regards, > Usha di > ========== > > > > > On Sat, Jul 30, 2011 at 10:40 PM, Neil Soares > <[email protected]<http://us.mc339.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]> > > wrote: > > Hi, > The Dioscorea bulbifera was just an incidental finding. Please check these > photographs where there are at least 6 climbers per frame. They are all > taken at my farm at Shahapur. > With regards, > Neil Soares. > > --- On *Sat, 7/30/11, Smilax004 > <[email protected]<http://us.mc339.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]> > >* wrote: > > > From: Smilax004 > <[email protected]<http://us.mc339.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]> > > > Subject: [efloraofindia:75417] Re: Giant Jewel Beetle feeding on Tendu > leaves > To: "Geeta" > <[email protected]<http://us.mc339.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]> > > > Cc: "indiantreepix" > <[email protected]<http://us.mc339.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]>>, > [email protected]<http://us.mc339.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]> > Date: Saturday, July 30, 2011, 11:39 AM > > > Dear Geeta, > > There is only one leaf belong to Dioscorea that too only in the first > picture. The main plant in the pictures is Diospyros melanoxylon > leaves as Neil ji mentioned. > One more interesting point I would like to mention here that recently > a scientist in ATREE Bangalore fond out that leaves of Nothapodytes > nimmoniana is been eaten by a > > Dear Ushadi, > > That is their nature not only insects most of the animals do so. What > do a domestic cow do? Who cleans its surroundings? are they concerned > about the same? In forest/nature, animals move around and they don't > concerned about the cleanliness of the surroundings, caused by them. > But there is system that works on it, such as dung beetles on dungs of > mammals and in no time the area gets cleaned. Fungus degrades the > wastes or decaying/dead substances. Rain washes away the surroundings > of insects and any disturbance of the plant (as what you see in the > picture) would help to drop down all such kind of foreign materials. > > In nature there is a system (or several systems) that works well to > keep up the momentum. It is we who don't work as per the rules of > nature hence need to work on each and every thing that we do. > > > Regards, > Giby > > > > > > > > > > On Jul 30, 5:54 am, Geeta > <[email protected]<http://us.mc339.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]>> > wrote: > > Looks like Dioscorea--possibly D. bulbifera. > > > > On Jul 30, 5:30 am, Ushadi micromini > > <[email protected]<http://us.mc339.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]> > > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > and in pic 1, what is the heart shaped leaf peering down at the top? > > > interesting venatiions... > > > seems to be a vine growing up on the tendu... > > > Udsha di > > > === > > > > > On Jul 29, 10:15 pm, Neil Soares > > > <[email protected]<http://us.mc339.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]>> > wrote: > > > > > > Hi, > > > > Thought this might be interesting….. > > > > > > > > Photographed this Giant Jewel Beetle [a Sternocera sp. possibly > S.chrysis] at my farm last weekend gorging on Tendu [Diospyros melanoxylon] > leaves. After extracting the juices it would discard the fibrous pellets. > > > > Sending a few photographs. > > > > With regards, > > > > Neil Soares. > > > > > > Giant Jewel Beetle on Tendu 1.jpg > > > > 552KViewDownload > > > > > > Giant Jewel Beetle on Tendu 2.jpg > > > > 477KViewDownload > > > > > > Giant Jewel Beetle on Tendu 3.jpg > > > > 480KViewDownload > > > > > > Giant Jewel Beetle on Tendu 4.jpg > > > > 494KViewDownload > > > > > > Giant Jewel Beetle on Tendu 5.jpg > > > > 495KViewDownload > > >
