Indiantreepix changes botanical procedure for me

[Gurcharan Singh]

Me and several botanists had a set procedure of work. If you find any unknown plant, sit with few floras, efloras if you have internet available, get hold of dissecting microscope, needle, brush, blade and a few more things and get busy till you identify the plant. If unsuccessful, photograph it and send to any group or individual who you think can identify this.

    Two days back I found a plant growing in Herbal garden, labelled as ban tulsi and identified as Ocimum basilicum. This angered me a lot, since it was no where near Ocimum. I sat down with all books I had, tried to study it, but after spending 6-8 hours could not identify this plant. Finally, today I sent it to the group, and after 10 minutes I knew this was Hyptis svaveolens, thanks Dinesh Valke.

     This made me to  rethink and decide. Next time you get a new plant, simply photograph it and send to the group, if you don't get help, only then waste your time with microscopes and books.

      This is how Indiantreepix and internet has changed the attitudes. Thanks Garg ji, Tabish ji and Dinesh ji.

--
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/

[Pankaj Oudhia]

Thanks for sharing. Hyptis is known as Van Tulsa in Chhattisgarh. Who says that it is not related to Tulsi? According to natives, its aroma is like Tulsi. As it grows in wild or wasteland it is named as Van Tulsa. It is local name and we must respect the local names. There is no need of anger.

Recently farmers tired of Parthenium infestation have developed new use of Van Tulsa i.e. Hyptis. They observed that whereever Van Tulsa grows Parthenium infestation less. Now they are growing this socalled weed in their fields in order to smother the growth of Parthenium.

Hoping tomorrow you will visit to herbal garden again and keep the board in same position. Common people know nothing about botany and classications, still they know much more about plants present in their surroundings.

regards

Pankaj Oudhia  

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[Dinesh Valke]

Friends: it was fastest fingers first !!

Thank you very much, Gurcharan ji ... my salutes to you.

 

Regards.

 

 

 

 

 

On Sun, Nov 22, 2009 at 12:01 AM, Gurcharan Singh <sing...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Swagat]

Dear all,

 

'Hyptis svaveolens' is called 'Vilayati Tulasi' 'विलायती तुळसी' in Marathi.

 

Regards.

 

~Swagat

9223217568

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2009/11/22 Dinesh Valke <dinesh...@gmail.com>

--
'I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do the something I can do.' - Helen Keller

[Gurcharan Singh]

Pankaj ji

Thanks for sharing your sentiments. Don't get me wrong. When I said the Plant is no where near Ocimum, it meant botanically. All species of Ocimum and easily distinguished by the presence of large almost spoon shaped upper calyx lobe, and when identifying members of Labiatae, the calyx structure is used as main criterian. In that regard in Floras Ocimum is generally at the other end of identification keys. 

    I never doubted Ban Tulsi, it was and it isBan tulsi, only it is not Ocimum basilicum (it is Sweet basil, common basil niazbo, babui tulsi, gulal tulsi, bhuttulsi, kama kasturi, and so many other common names, but not ban tulsi). Ban tulsi I knew through literature may be a Elsholtzia blanda (assam), Majorana hortensis (Kumaon), Ocimum gratissimum (Hindi, Bengali) and Perilla frutescens (Bengal). It was none of these. The book Useful plants of India by CSRI lists following local names for Hyptis suaveolens: Hindi: Vilayati tulsi. Beng: Bilati tulsi. Oryia: Ganga tulsi, parodo. Bihar: Bihunsri, dimbubuha, ara gusumpuru. It does not list Ban tulsi, and as such did not help me. Thanks Dinesh ji, he identified the plant correctly.

      I invite you to visit Herbal Garden here to see many more scientific names to know reason for my comments.

As far as local names are concerned they are always useful in quick identification, and you must have seen recently I have been posting local regional names in all languages, when an identiofication is complete.

Cheer up Pankaj ji

-- 
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ 

[J.M. Garg]

Thanks, Singh ji.

You are always very frank with your views.

I think it's 'Unity is Strength'.

What one finds difficult- 1093 members can make it easy. 

2009/11/22 Gurcharan Singh <sing...@gmail.com>

--
With regards,
J.M.Garg (jmg...@gmail.com)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jmgarg1
'Creating awareness of Indian Flora & Fauna'
Image Resource of more than a thousand species of Birds, Butterflies, Plants etc. (arranged alphabetically & place-wise): http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:J.M.Garg
For learning about Indian Flora, visit/ join Google e-group- Indiantreepix:http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en

[Pankaj Oudhia]

Thanks Gurucharan ji for your reply.

I am forwarding Hindi article titled "Bahut kuchh batate hai vanaspatiyon ke sthaniya naam."

http://ecoport.org/storedReference/556792.pdf

In my state, villages have been named after herbs. Chhattisgarh have over 16,000 villages. I have noted that villages named based on specific herb are rich in that particular species and the natives as well as Traditional Healers have more information about the species than other region. Please see this link for more information.

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=reference&ReferenceID=557175


regards

Pankaj Oudhia

[J.M. Garg]

Hi, Singh ji,

If you have tried Edit » Find to search 'tulsi' in the indiantreepix database, you would have found your plant immediately.

It certainly is more useful to experts like you. 

2009/11/22 Pankaj Oudhia <pankaj...@gmail.com>

[Gurcharan Singh]

Yes Garg ji

I was looking for Ban tulsi which does not figure under Hyptis. A simple search for tulsi gives more than twenty hits to look for. I normally use 'Useful plants of India' by CSIR to check local names which did not list Hyptis as Ban tulsi. Anyway once our database is complete, it should be the most useful resource around for Indian plants

Thanks again

-- 
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ 

x

[J.M. Garg]

Thanks, Singh ji.

But in effect it points only to seven species, from which you can easily identify your plant within minutes. 
Indiantreepix Database is an unending exercise & will never be complete- I think it will stop only when we stop updating it.

2009/11/22 Gurcharan Singh <sing...@gmail.com>