grass Coix again 17/10/12 sk

[surajit koley]

Sir,

This seems to be another Coix, a slimmer species with much slimmer leaves, found in a marsh at a outskirt. Could this be a variety of Coix aquatica Roxburgh? I have recorded photographs of 3 individual tufts and i hope there is no mix up.

Species : Coix sp.?

Habit & Habitat :

slender grass in a marshy low land,

5 feet or more tall,

stem erect, about 7 mm wide,

leaves more than 75 cm x 13 mm

Date : 17/10/12, 1.30 p.m.

Place : Khanpur-Barijhati (Hooghly)

Thank you & Regards,

surajit

[Nidhan Singh]

Very very beautifully captured images Surajit Ji...cannot say of species though...
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Regards,

Dr. Nidhan Singh

Assisstant Professor
Department of Botany
I.B. (PG) College
Panipat-132103 Haryana
Ph.: 09416371227

[surajit koley]

Thank you very much once again Nidhan Sir, my camera behaves well in good light :)

Regards,

surajit

[manoj chandran]

The only Coix with linear leaf and simple base is Coix gasteeni, which is the only Coix found in Australia. The photo looks like a place which has been developed recently and probably, these could be planted ones also. Kindly confirm whether it was planted and what was the source of the plant. If not, you can check nearby areas for probably wild populations. Coix aquatica has cordate leaf base like other coix species, but will have glandular hairs on the dorsal side of the leaf. This photo shows glandular hairs on some of the leaf sheaths only. You can also see the stilt roots. If there is a good population, you can also try uprooting some plants to see what the root system is like, whether it is rhizomatous, stoloniferous, spongy, etc. Well done!

[surajit koley]

Sir,

The place where i found this grass is bordering area of three villages in Hooghly, GARALGACHA, KHANPUR and BARIJHATI. All the villages are in Chanditala Block and about 25 km from Howrah Rly. Stn.

I attach three new pics, the road in one of the pics is the connecting road to villages. It was a dirt road and converted to asphalt-concrete last year. The lands on the both sides of the road are relatively low land and get submerged during rainy season. Rest of the year it is foraging area for village cattle and playground for village urchins.

All those saplings and the fence therewith were planted / erected on the 30th September to commemorate the birth centenary of Dr. Siddheswar Mukhopadhyaya, the founder of our school in Garalgacha. I was not present during plantation programme.

Otherwise the place was covered by roadside trees and aquatic and semi-aquatic wild species before the concretization the road. Grasses like Typha, or sages are growing here for long.

This grass seems to be wild one, might have been introduced unknowingly. Any chance of coming with road materials? Because they cannot grow 5 feet in about a week or so. I have seen one or two of this grass well inside the lowland, away from the roadside.

Regards,

surajit

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[jmgarg1]

Forwarding again for Id confirmation or otherwise please.

Some earlier relevant feedback:

The only Coix with linear leaf and simple base is Coix gasteeni, which is the only Coix found in Australia. The photo looks like a place which has been developed recently and probably, these could be planted ones also. Kindly confirm whether it was planted and what was the source of the plant. If not, you can check nearby areas for probably wild populations. Coix aquatica has cordate leaf base like other coix species, but will have glandular hairs on the dorsal side of the leaf. This photo shows glandular hairs on some of the leaf sheaths only. You can also see the stilt roots. If there is a good population, you can also try uprooting some plants to see what the root system is like, whether it is rhizomatous, stoloniferous, spongy, etc. Well done!- from Manoj ji.

The place where i found this grass is bordering area of three villages in Hooghly, GARALGACHA, KHANPUR and BARIJHATI. All the villages are in Chanditala Block and about 25 km from Howrah Rly. Stn. I attach three new pics, the road in one of the pics is the connecting road to villages. It was a dirt road and converted to asphalt-concrete last year. The lands on the both sides of the road are relatively low land and get submerged during rainy season. Rest of the year it is foraging area for village cattle and playground for village urchins. All those saplings and the fence therewith were planted / erected on the 30th September to commemorate the birth centenary of Dr. Siddheswar Mukhopadhyaya, the founder of our school in Garalgacha. I was not present during plantation programme. Otherwise the place was covered by roadside trees and aquatic and semi-aquatic wild species before the concretization the road. Grasses like Typha, or sages are growing here for long. This grass seems to be wild one, might have been introduced unknowingly. Any chance of coming with road materials? Because they cannot grow 5 feet in about a week or so. I have seen one or two of this grass well inside the lowland, away from the roadside. Regards, surajit

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With regards,
J.M.Garg

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'Creating awareness of Indian Flora & Fauna'
The whole world uses my Image Resource of more than a thousand species & eight thousand images of Birds, Butterflies, Plants etc. (arranged alphabetically & place-wise): http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:J.M.Garg. You can also use them for free as per Creative Commons license attached with each image.

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[surajit koley]

Good evening Sir,

Manoj Sir asked me if i could find its occurrence in the wild and ascertain if it is imported somehow in that area. I will try to find out.

There is a record in Australian website on this unique grass - http://biocache.ala.org.au/occurrences/5636a653-0e43-4448-b58d-49d61f01bbb1;jsessionid=467E4B9CA7B8B9C0ABA0154CE328B4FF

Thank you & Regards,

surajit

[surajit koley]

Sir,

This grass is naturally occurring in that area. I roamed the area today, on my cycle, and found they are scattered along the roadside. I have recorded more pictures at a place one km. away from the first site.

According to the local people both the sides of the road has been filled with earth collected from a nearby marsh and that particular marsh is the habitat of this grass. It was not possible to visit the marsh right at this time, for it is still flooded. But local people, including two of my students there insisted that there is good population of this grass.

Thank you,

Regards,

surajit

[surajit koley]

Sir,

I would like to add that the upper surface of its leaf is slightly rough (scabrid?) while the under surface is smooth (glabrous?). The root is spongy.

Regards,

surajit