[efloraofindia:34580] Arundo donax from Delhi

[Gurcharan Singh]

Arundo donax L. from Herbal Garden, Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi. Photographed in January, 2010. Eng: Great reed, Spanish cane. Hindi: Bara nal; Punjab: Bansi; Beng: Gaha nal

Reed used for mats, baskets, trays, fishing rods and musical instruments. Stalks and leaves used for pulp used for high grade paper. Also used for manufacture of rayon.

--
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  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/

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[tanay bose]

Great sir i have seen this in wild many times mostly in Corbett ntional Park,

Tanay

On Wed, May 12, 2010 at 12:07 AM, Gurcharan Singh <sing...@gmail.com> wrote:

Arundo donax L. from Herbal Garden, Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi. Photographed in January, 2010. Eng: Great reed, Spanish cane. Hindi: Bara nal; Punjab: Bansi; Beng: Gaha nal

Reed used for mats, baskets, trays, fishing rods and musical instruments. Stalks and leaves used for pulp used for high grade paper. Also used for manufacture of rayon.

--
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  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/

--

Tanay Bose
+91(033) 25550676 (Resi)
9830439691(Mobile)
9674221362 (Mobile)

[R. Vijayasankar]

Dear Gurcharan ji,

 

I used to always get confused with this and Phragmites karka. Pl tell us how to distinguish them. In our place we have one with compact inflorescence and we used to identify it as Arundo donax.

In that way it looks different to me.

 

Thanx.

With regards

R. Vijayasankar

[Gurcharan Singh]

Vijayasankar ji

I agree grasses are often difficult to differentiate. I had checked spikelets at the time of taking photograph, and opted for Arundo on the basis of hairs arising from the back of lemma and not callus. Also Phragmites is generally a plant of wet banks or shallow waters. This one grows in normal terrestrial habitat in garden. Also the leaves are much broader than Phragmites I know. Any how if you have doubt about its identity, I will recheck when it comes to flower.. 

-- 
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  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/ 

[R. Vijayasankar]

Thanks Gurcharan ji, for the clarification.

 

Please have a look at these links. http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=95033&flora_id=2 ;

http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/06/11506-004-33C45BB1.jpg

In our place (TN), we have this plant plentily along watercourses. As i mentioned the panicle is compact, not effuse as it is in your picture. I may be wrong also. Grass experts may throw more light on this. 

With regards

R. Vijayasankar

[Gurcharan Singh]

Vijayasankar ji

May be you are ultimately right. I will check the plant critically in next few days and report back

-- 
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  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/ 

[Gurcharan Singh]

Shrikant ji

I went to the site today only and got photographs of blade-sheath junction, ligule, florets, differentiating characters between the two genera. These photographs I hope should settle the identification. Tanay and Anil, this is your research project for today. Phragmites karka or Arundo donax.

-- 
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  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/ 

 

On Wed, May 12, 2010 at 8:45 PM, Dr. Hari Venkatesh K Rajaraman <ayurhari...@gmail.com> wrote:

Excellent post Guru ji...wonderful pictures

This plant is considered as "NALAA" in Ayurveda...i would like to post
the medicinal details later...
I had seen the plant photo in the net but not this much closer view...

[tanay bose]

Phragmites karka (Retz.) Trin. ex Steud

 

Synonym:

Arundo karka Retz.

Arundo roxburghii Kunth

Phragmites maxima (Forssk.) Blatter & McCann

Phragmites nepalensis Nees ex Steud.

Phragmites roxburghii (Kunth) Steud.

 

Perennial reed, with creeping rhizomes. Culms erect, up to 10m high. Leaf-blades 30-80 cm long and 12-40 nun wide, glabrous, rough to the touch beneath (at least in the upper half), the tips attenuate and stiff (occasionally almost smooth or with filiform tips). Panicle 30-50 cm long, 10-20 cm wide, the lowest node often many-branched in a whorl, the branches bare of spikelets for some distance from their base. Spikelets 9-12 mm long, the rhachilla-hairs 4-7 mm long, rather sparse; lower glume just over half as long as the upper; upper glume narrowly elliptic to very narrowly elliptic, 4-6 mm long, acute to subacute; lowest lemma very narrowly elliptic, 7.5-12 mm long; fertile lemmas very narrowly lanceolate, 85-11 mm long.

 

Arundo donax Linn.

 

Synonym:

Arundo bengalensis Retz.

Arundo bifaria Retz.

Arundo longifolia Salisb. ex Hook. f.

Arundo triflora Roxb. ex Hook. f.

 

Perennial, with creeping woody rhizomes. Culms erect, up to 5 m high. Leaf-blades conspicuously distichous, linear-lanceolate, rounded or cordate at the base, 30-60 cm long, 2.5-5 cm wide, glabrous, smooth, long-attenuate at the tip. Panicle 30.60 cm long and 5.8(10) cm wide. Spikelets 10-15 mm long; glumes subequal, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, (8-)10-13 mm long, the lower a little shorter than the upper; lemmas lanceolate, (6)8.5-13 mm long, 3-5-nerved, 3 of the nerves produced as short aristae, hairy all over the back below the middle with hairs up to 7 mm long.

 

My Answer to the question given out by Gurcharan Ji is………..

Phragmites karka

Tanay

[Gurcharan Singh]

Dear Tanay

My posting of photographs of ligule fringed with hairs and tuft of long hairs below floret and spiral leaves meant I had concluded this to be Phragmites karka. Thanks Vijayasankar ji, for initiating this process of thorough investigation.

-- 
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  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/ 

[R. Vijayasankar]

What an evidence sir ji?! You are simply great! Thanks for the pictures of P. karka (i am seeing the plant for the first time!). Thanks Tanay for the 'project report'!

The discussions on the group are lively & lovely.

With regards

R. Vijayasankar

[Gurcharan Singh]

Thanks Vijayasankar ji

All credit to you for initiating the process of reinvestigation. 

-- 
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  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/ 

[Swagat]

 

Dear all,

 

'Phragmites karka' is called 'Nal' 'नल' or 'Narkul' 'नरकुल' in Marathi.

 

Regards,

 

~Swagat

9223217568 / 9422317979

2010/5/13 Gurcharan Singh <sing...@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]

Welcome back Swagat ji with Mathathi names.

-- 
Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  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/