I am posting herbs in the 2016 April AtoZ my post title for today itself suggests that is has been tough to choose which herb to describe.
And, the winner is Chavar or Indian Arrowroot which belongs to the Zingiberaceae family. The botanical name is Curcuma caulina. The reason why I chose Chavar over others is that I saw this pretty herb after a really long hot trek up to Raireshwar plateau and the glorious flowers were almost a visual balm for me. Almost reminded me of William Wordsworth's poem Daffodils!
This species is endemic to the state of Maharashtra in India. Despite being locally abundent in its area of growth, the IUCN Red List classifies it under the Endangered list. It faces threats from grazing, mining, soil erosion, agriculture, harvesting of rhizomes etc. The root powder is used as food in some parts.
Here are the competitors seen on Pune hills who lost out to Chavar.... I took the easy way out for identifying these namely ask friends! ;-)
Whenever travelling to a new destination, its a good idea for field botany enthusiasts to make a general Google search about flora in that area. City authority websites, travel blogs, botany related websites will give an idea of what to expect. Few cities have city-specific books (e.g. The Trees of San Francisco, Trees of Delhi, Trees of Pune) that mark out tree locations which is a tremendous boon for tree lovers.
Hope you have enjoyed the offerings today!
And, the winner is Chavar or Indian Arrowroot which belongs to the Zingiberaceae family. The botanical name is Curcuma caulina. The reason why I chose Chavar over others is that I saw this pretty herb after a really long hot trek up to Raireshwar plateau and the glorious flowers were almost a visual balm for me. Almost reminded me of William Wordsworth's poem Daffodils!
This species is endemic to the state of Maharashtra in India. Despite being locally abundent in its area of growth, the IUCN Red List classifies it under the Endangered list. It faces threats from grazing, mining, soil erosion, agriculture, harvesting of rhizomes etc. The root powder is used as food in some parts.
Here are the competitors seen on Pune hills who lost out to Chavar.... I took the easy way out for identifying these namely ask friends! ;-)
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| Commelina species |
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| Cleome species |
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| Cynotis species |
Hope you have enjoyed the offerings today!
See you around
:)
35 comments:
It takes a lot of heart to notice such small lovelies... :) Most of us are always distracted by technology.. I'm really liking your theme.
Seena from
Thinking Aloud
Thank you Seena! Usually the flowers themselves demand attention :) What's needed is a cell phone with good camera for closeups! (some flowers are about the size of the mail of the little finger or less)
Oops ... That's *nail* not mail 👆
I loved your idea of searching on the internet areas rich in flora and planning our outings accordingly :)
Loving how your post series on herbs in turning out :D
My Era @theerailivedin
The Era I Lived In
Missed out on mentioning that 'C for Choices' is for me too :)
Very informative posts! Thanks for sharing :)
Cheers!
Modern Gypsy
Archana, I like that you have taken such pains to research and document all about the plant of the day. Brilliant work and effort. Kudos :)
@KalaRavi16 from
Relax-N-Rave
Those are some great looking flowers! :)
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this reminds of the "Man vs Wild" series, this information will surely come handy.
I ways wanted to do this .
Study on plants 😃
@dixita011 from
Cafenined words
Such a lovely little flower - that blue one!
Tina from Twinkling Tina Cooks
Is this arrowroot the same powder advised for tummy troubles!
Spot on on that daffodils.. a host of daffodils! and lovely you looking up the names of flaura when you visit a new place..
Delightful and very pretty post thank you Archana!
@ My Era Glad you liked my theme and posts. Thank you so much!
And 'same pinch'for the same title for "C"
:)
@Modern Gypsy Thanks for stopping by :)
Thank you Kala. I enjoy reading your well researched posts!
Thanks ShalzzZ :)
Thanks for stopping by Karan!
@dixita011 You are now a student of field botany!! :)
@Tina Basu - I loved the blue flower too.. the petals have a unique shape. Thanks for stopping by!
@vaayadipennu I am not sure if this is the same arrowroot you mention. Best consult an expert before using it for medicinal purpose. thanks for your kind words :)
Thank you Susan! Happy to post lovely flowers.. :)
I have never heard of these. I find it really difficult to identify & remember all the plants and flowers.
- Chicky @ www.mysteriouskaddu.com
I have never heard of these. I find it really difficult to identify & remember all the plants and flowers.
- Chicky @ www.mysteriouskaddu.com
Wow, the velvet flowers are so beautiful. Good to know about this spice.
Destination Infinity
@Chiky,the flowers were 'annonymous' to me for quite some time. I met good teachers and friends who put me on the right track to learn about them. Its easier to remember the common names. Try it!
@Destination Infinity Thanks for stopping by!
Wow.. such an interesting theme. I used to love Botany and looking at your post that interest is back again.
Reema D’souza from
Reem Writes...
Again, I have seen this but didn't know much about it. Thanks for providing details about it :)
C- Can I?
Beautiful photos with your blog. Found you through the A to Z Challenge and I enjoyed reading several of your entries. Keep up the good work! www.dianeweidenbenner.com
I'm learning so much from you, getting story inspiration, and feasting upon the beauty! So happy you keep landing in my Minioning bracket, so I can visit you even on busy days. =)
Boldly Going Through the Alphabet!
@shanjeniah
Part-Time Minion for Holton's Heroes
shanjeniah's Lovely Chaos
@Reema - so glad you could reconnect with botany. Thanks for stopping by!
@The Solitary Writer Thank you!
Thank you for the kind words Dianne! :)
@Shan, your kind words made my day! Thank you! :) :)
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