Called Khajkuyali in Marathi Madhuri --- On Tue, 2/8/11, Neil Soares <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Neil Soares <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [efloraofindia:75824] Re: Giant Jewel Beetle feeding on Tendu leaves To: "ushadi Micromini" <[email protected]> Cc: "efloraofindia" <[email protected]> Date: Tuesday, 2 August, 2011, 11:10 PM Hi, From my records over the last few years, Mucuna pruriens generally flowers in October and fruiting occurs between October to March. Have never thought of collecting the seeds as they grow wild and also because the pods are covered with fine stinging hair. With regards, Neil Soares. --- On Tue, 8/2/11, 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: Tuesday, August 2, 2011, 4:25 PM 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]> 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]> wrote: From: Smilax004 <[email protected]> Subject: [efloraofindia:75417] Re: Giant Jewel Beetle feeding on Tendu leaves To: "Geeta" <[email protected]> Cc: "indiantreepix" <[email protected]>, [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]> wrote: > Looks like Dioscorea--possibly D. bulbifera. > > On Jul 30, 5:30 am, Ushadi micromini <[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]> 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
