Friday, October 14, 2022

Chlorophytum malabaricum

 Tamil Nadu (threatened)

This plant is also known as malabar lily. It is found in the Western Ghats. It is a small herb with a stem closely attached to leaves. Flowers are star-shaped and highly fragrant.



Abutilon indicum

 Tamil Nadu (rare)

Commonly known as Indian mallow, this plant is a small shrub in the Malvaceae family found in a number of tropical and subtropical zones. The plant was much used in Siddha medicine and its root, bark, flowers and leaves have all been used for medicinal purposes. It is called thuthi in Tamil and athibalaa in Sanskrit


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Actinodaphne lawsonii

 Kerala (threatened)

This plant belongs to the lauraceae family. It is endemic to India though threatened by habitat loss. The canopy or sub-canopy trees can be found in the high elevation evergreen forest between 1,200 and 2,400 meters. The leaves are aromatic and have medicinal use.




Psilotum nudum

 Karnataka (rare)

Also known as moa, skeleton, fork fern, and whisk fern, this plant is both rootless and leafless, forming low-growing clumps. The plant produces abundant spores which are collected and used for making powder. In Greek, 'psilo' means bare. The scientific name reflects the plant's appearance where many of the organs which would normally present in a plant are absent in this one, including leaves, flowers, and roots. You can use the whisk fern as a small broom by tying a handful of its branches together


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Amentotaxus assamica

 Arunachal Pradesh (threatened)

This plant is also called the Assam catkin yew. They are shrubs or small trees found in the moist deciduous forest of Assam. It belongs to a species of coniferous trees found only in India. They are found in three regions of Arunachal Pradesh, including the hills of Turoo, Delei Valley, and the hills of Dafla.



Lotus corniculatus

 This plant belongs to the pea family. The plant bears pretty little yellow flowers that grow in a circle at the end of the stem. They are very bright and are easily spotted along the roadside. It is used in agriculture as a forage plant. It is also grown for pasture, hay and silage. The plants are perennial and herbaceous, similar to some clover. They are also called bird’s foot, which refers to the appearance of the seed pods on their stalk.





Polygala irregularis

Commonly known as milkwort, this plant is both an annual and perennial herb. It blooms during July and August. The plants are found at an altitude of 1000 meters. The flowers are found in blue, off-white, pink, and white. The plants have been destroyed to make room for human habitats and use land for agriculture.