Indicator of rains?

[kiran srivastava]

Here is a photograph of Yellow Ground Star, Curculigo orchioides that I saw in Sanjay Gandhi National Park. It is common in the hills of Western Ghats and emerges from the ground before the onset of the south-east monsoons. Does it mean the rains are not far off, I wonder!

 

Cheers,

Kiran Srivastava

Mumbai

[Sushmita Jha]

Gorgeous!

[Yazdy Palia]

Hi Kiran,
It does not mean that rains are far off, however it does mean that the
area has got the spring showers. The western ghats receive rainfall
sometimes from February. They are intermittent and sometimes quite a
few showers. These showers make the cultivation of crops like coffee
economical and the small farmers depend on them. Coffee blossoms come
out on the 9th day after the first shower. If the following shoers are
good the crop could be good, however sometimes just one poor shower
brings doom to the small farmers.
Regards
Yazdy.

On Sun, May 17, 2009 at 10:01 PM, kiran srivastava

[Pankaj Oudhia]

Hi Kiran,

  Some useful links related to your plant. It is Kali Musli for me.

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/CropFactSheets/kali.html

http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=+site:www.botanical.com+curculigo+oudhia

http://ecoport.org/ep?SearchType=earticleList&Author=oudhia&Text=curculigo

http://ecoport.org/ep?Plant=5055&entityType=PL****&entityDisplayCategory=Photograph_Thumbnails


[Simply ignore 'Sign in' key in Ecoport. It is for editors only, not for visitors.]


Pankaj Oudhia

http://knol.google.com/k/pankaj-oudhia/pankaj-oudhia/3nerdtj3s9l79/1

[kiran srivastava]

Following comments in response I thought I would add that it did rain
on Wednesday, 20th May 90 in Mumbai....

Cheers,
Kiran Srivastava
Mumbai

On Sun, May 17, 2009 at 10:01 PM, kiran srivastava

[Yazdy Palia]

Hi Kiran,
It is nice to come across people who are observant. However, our
observation and inference should not contradict known knowledge. It is
commonsense that no seed could ever germinate without the presence of
some moisture in the soil. So too no plant with surface roots could
sprout new leaves without the presence of moisture.
It is well known that there are some pre monsoon showers in some
places. It is quite possible that there must have been a shower, no
matter how small before you paid a visit and noticed the plant
sprouting.
regards
Yazdy Palia.