Peth Kothaligad, September 2021 :: Plant for ID :: ARK2022-008

[Alka Khare]

Hello friends

This was clicked at Peth Kothaligad hill fort near Karjat, MH in September 2021.

I strongly suspect, the leaves of this plant to be very similar to the ones I posted  at Pali near Khopoli, MH :: Vegetable for ID :: ARK2019-60, although this has been clicked at a completely different location. The leaves are so similar.

No fruiting or flowering seen on this plant.

Requested to please ID.

And also suggest whether the plants in both these posts could be the same.

Thanks and regards

Alka Khare

[radha veach]

Hello Alka,

the leaves of this plant do indeed resemble those posted by you as a vegetable from Pali. It has been puzzling me for some time.

In your first two images here the upper leaves are visible and they differ from the lower leaves. It is the upper leaves which are more familiar to me.

I think this plant is an Asteraceae which flowers late or after the rains. It may be Tricholepis glaberrima. The branching pattern seen partly in your first two photos would also match with Tricholepis.

This plant is sometimes known as Brahmadandi and it seems to have several ethnomedicinal applications and possibly nutritional uses as well. If you saw the larger leaves for sale only in the month of August this would tally with the emergence of the tender new leaves before the plant shoots up and becomes more rigid.

regards

Radha

[Alka Khare]

Thanks Radhi ji for this exhaustive analysis.

That post also troubles me and hence when I saw this plant, I thought may be it will help us to id those leaves as well.

Dinesh ji's site gives a local name to Tricholepis glaberrima -  दहाण dahan 

Could this match with the name that the vegetable seller gave me - Dhanni/Dhamni or the like? I wonder.

The vegetable pics were clicked on August 24th 2019 and this plant was clicked on 26th September 2021.

I will always be on the lookout for this at other places, but that will have to wait now till next year's rains.

Thanks so much again.

Regards

Alka Khare 

[radha veach]

Hi Alka,

I found an illustration of the plant  :    http://plantillustrations.org/illustration.php?id_illustration=162222

And this article on the medicinal properties with a photo of the young leaves     https://journal.environcj.in/index.php/ecj/article/view/71/132

It seems that the local name given by Dinesh ji is close enough!

Well done for finding the plant in the field as well.

regards

Radha

[Alka Khare]

Thanks Radha ji for all the help.

Regards

Alka Khare