06 April 2016

E is for Euphorbia rothiana

I am posting AtoZ herbs in the 2016 April AtoZ blogging challenge. For E I have two herbs, one indigenous and one that has been naturalised in India. The more important aspect is that I could independently identify both of them! 

Yay!!!

Euphorbia rothiana which is also known as Common Hill Spurge is a native herb that caught my eye on a trek in the Western Ghats. Its unusual green flowers were a sight for sore eyes and very intriguing. The stem oozed a milky juice when a branch was accidentally broken off which may possibly explain its Marathi name - Doodhi. E rothiana grows up to an altitude of 1200 m. 

Clue: A milky exudate from the plant suggests that it may belong Euphorbiaceae, Apocynaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Sapotaceae, Papavaraceae or Moraceae families of the Plant Kingdom. One must correlate with other plant features to eliminate and arrive at some possible identities. This herb belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family.

Flowers


Entire Plant
Yet another very pretty almost prostrate herb that I spotted on my morning walks is called Vishnushnakant in Marathi and botanically it is Evolvulus alsinoides. It has very pretty purple flowers that almost beg not to be stamped upon. That's because the herb grows almost along the ground in my part of the world and folk often walk all over it - possibly out of ignorance or just not noticing it. It has several medicinal uses - though I admit I prefer to enjoy its natural beauty.



I have to rush off, there are several blogs to read...
Enjoy!

31 comments:

Shan Jeniah Burton said...

So very pretty! I love the blue ones. =)

Boldly Going Through the Alphabet!
@shanjeniah
Part-Time Minion for Holton's Heroes
shanjeniah's Lovely Chaos

Ann Bennett said...

Keep them coming. Beautiful plants.

Archana said...

@Shan! I thought so too.. Thanks for stopping by :)

Archana said...

@ Ann Thank you so much for the encouragement :)

Unknown said...

Wow. Coming back for more. The pictures are amazing. 😃

Penelope Potty Snooper said...

Very interesting. Are these medicinal herbs? And do you have any idea what they are used for? Will definitely be back for more botanical information.
BellyBytes from
Mumbai On A High

Kala Ravi said...

Archana, I want to do a trek with you! I am from Mumbai too! I want to visit Kas valley. Thanks for sharing your valuable knowledge.
@KalaRavi16 from
Relax-N-Rave

Kala Ravi said...

Where's my comment?
@KalaRavi16 from
Relax-N-Rave

Archana said...

@BellyBytes- I am not sure about the medicinal aspects of the herbs I have written about - except ofcourse the well known ones. That is the reason I am not written in detail on that aspect. Its always better to consult experts before taking herbs as medicines.
Thanks for stopping by
:)

Archana said...

@Kala, you can easily visit Kaas from Mumbai. September is the ideal time.. depending on the rain ofcourse. Your comment has made my day. Thanks!!
:) :)

Seena said...

Such lovely pics! :) Love to see how much effort has gone into these posts..
Thumbs up!

Cheers
Seena
#AtoZChallenge- E is for Eating for two

Hill station Reader said...

Good to Se your knowledge about the herbs ...and loved the trick to identify the plant by milk one thing ...

@dixita011 from
Cafenined words


Karan said...

i loved the colour, but honestly forget the flower the pronunciation itself was latin to me :P

Roma Gupta Sinha said...

Hi ARchana, dat's an informative one...makes me nostalgic..use to have a similar doodhi plant in the village where my dad was posted..and me n my younger bro had great fun playing with it

Archana said...

So glad you liked the pics Seena! Thank you!

Archana said...

@Dixita mour I am still learning! Using this challenge to improve and properly record my observations. Thanks for stopping by!

Archana said...

@Roma- I am glad that the post evoked happy memories.. Thanks a lot :)

Unknown said...

What an interesting post on herbs. I had never heard of these or seen them before your post. They are beautiful! Thank you for stopping over at my blog, Ink & Stitches!

Julianne
http://blog.jhwinter.com

Sukanya said...

Great theme for your blog!

Claire Annette said...

Beautiful - it is always surprising to see such a beautiful blue in a flower.
Such an interesting post.

Trisha Faye said...

Great, informative post! I'm following now so that I can keep up with your posts.
Trisha Faye
www.herbthyme.wordpress.com

The Solitary Writer said...

Ok I have not seen this :D So this is some extra knowledge for me

E- Power of Expectation

Susan A Eames said...

Hi Archana, I love cooking with herbs and spices, so I was pleased to find your blog in the A-Z Challenge and hope I'll pick up some tips from you.

Susan A Eames from
Travel, Fiction and Photos

Archana said...

@Julianne Thank you! Most of the posted herbs are indigenous to India.

Archana said...

Thank you Sukanya!

Archana said...

@Claire Annette, I loved the blue flower too!

Archana said...

@Trisha. Thank you so much!

Archana said...

@The Solitary Writer.. we learn something new everyday right?? ;) Thanks for stopping by!

Archana said...

@Susan Appreciate your comments. See you around the blog world!

Debbie D. said...

I'm not familiar with these herbs at all. The blue ones are pretty.

Archana said...

@Debbie Most of these herbs are indigenous to this are hence may seem unfamiliar to you. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.