Dolphin Plant

          Dolphin Plant, or String of Dolphins (Senecio sp.), in the family Asteraceae.  is a rare variety of trailing succulent that looks like a pod of leaping dolphins. The plant is a hybrid between Senecio rowleyanus and Senecio articulatus.Reaching a height of 15 cm (6 inches) tall, the plant's curvy leaves develop two small points which make it look like a pod of coltish dolphins. It blooms from May to June. The flowers are mincing and white in colour, forming clenched puffballs. Each bloom has a halo of blood red to golden yellow filaments.

                              

                            

  Top Ten Most Endangered Plants

1. Western Prairie Fringed Orchid

Platanthera praeclara only exists in five U.S. states in the Midwest. The Endangered Species Coalition estimates that there are only 172 populations of this plant, with merely four with more than 1,000 plants. This is a wetland plant that grows in “prairie potholes”, indents left by glaciers in the recent ice age, 20,000 years ago. The main threats to this plant are development, overgrazing, fires, and global warming.

                            

2. Rafflesia Flower

Rafflesia arnoldii is thought to be the largest flower on the planet. The flower itself does not have a structural stem, leaves, or roots. But what it does have is the pungent odors of decomposing flesh, hence the nickname corpse flower. It grows three feet in diameter, and weighs up to 24 pounds. The Rafflesia is parasitic, growing on the Tetrastigma vine in the forests of Borneo and Sumatra.

                                       

3. Georgia Aster

Symphyotrichum georgianum is native to southeastern United States. According to NatureServe.com, a conservation organization, this plant first grew in small clumps, but now there are about 60 populations of this plant due to natural habitat development.

                                        

4. Wiggin's Acalypha

Acalypha wigginsii is native to a tiny part of the Galapagos Islands. Construction work and loss of habitat are the main reasons these plants have declined in number. They are considered aCritically Endangered by the Galapagos Conservation Trust.

                                     

                                           

 5. Texas Wild Rice

Zizania texana only has 140 clumps left, with a seemingly grim future ahead. Growing only in the freshwater of San Marcos River, this plant is endangered by lowering water levels caused by the Spring Lake Dam, according to the Center of Plant Conservation.

                                   

6. Howell's Spectacular Thelypody

Thelypodium howellii sp. spectabilis only has five populations remaining, all of them in Oregon's northeast. In 1999, about 30 thousand plants remained, but its population drops annually due to unnecessary grass mowing in the areas this plants calls home.

7. Stenogyne Kanehoana

This member of the mint family was said to be extinct in 2000, until one sighting of a plant confirmed it was still alive. Growing only in the Waianae Mountains of the island of Oahu, the Stegyne kanehoana has dense, furry leaves. In 2001 in the Lyon Arborteum, it was discovered that cuttings of this plant can be grown sucessfully in captivity.

                          

                                

8. Ouachita Mountain Goldenrod

Thought to be a remnant of the last ice age, the actual population of Solidago ouachitensis is unknown. It live in three counties along the border of Arkansas and Oklahoma. It prefers to live in a cool moist climate, like the crests of Ouachita Mountains.

                         

                                     

9. Enrubio

In 1992, there were about 150 plants of the Solanum drymophilum left. Native to Puerto Rico, this bush has sharp thorns that protect it from being eaten. It is close to extinction because of the harm that is done to a grazing animal that ingests it.

                                      

10. Arizona Agave

With less than 100 plants alive in 1984, Agave arizonica has managed to keep its population from declining considerably. Only two populations have survived, both located in Tonto National Forest of scalding Arizona. The New River Mountains and Sierra Anchas Mountains are thought to be the only habitats of this rare specimen by the Center of Plant Conservation.

                                   

                 

                     

                Bird shaped flower

There is a plant with hummingbird-shaped flowers.Called green bird flower or regal birdflower, this stunning plant belongs to the legume family and  known as Crotalaria cunninghamii, named after the 19th century botanist Allan Cunningham, the small green shrub is native to Northern Australia.Looking directly at the entire plant, it’s as if a dozen green hummingbirds gathered together to enjoy a feast of flower nectar—beautifully suspended in mid-air.

          Green birdflower is a perennial shrub that grows to about 1–3 m in height. It has hairy or woolly branches and dull green foliage. The oval leaves are about 30 mm long, the large and greenish pea flowers are streaked with fine black lines, and the club-shaped seed pods are up to 50 mm long. The plant's flowers grow on long spikes at the ends of its branches. The flower greatly resembles a bird attached by its beak to the central stalk of the flowerhead.

                       

                    

                       

Journey of Coffee from Flower....to your Cup in a single picture. 

       

Do you know Misconception about Sunflower (Helianthus annuus, Family: Asteraceae)

There is a misconception about the sunflowers. It is said that the sunflowers turn continuously during the day to face the sun. It is absolutely wrong; sunflowers do not change the direction any time of the day. When large fields of sunflowers are grown, the variety is chosen is for its seeds, which have high oil content. This oil is, as we know all, is used in cooking. Such varieties of sunflower plants normally have a large, single, flower growing on apex. Normally all the flowers in such field cultivation face any one direction (but do not change their direction as sun shifts). However, if there are two or more flowers growing on the apex, each faces a different direction. Smaller, decorative sunflower varieties have flowers facing all directions. Even large flowering varieties, if grown in pots and kept in different locations, flowers growing on them grow in any direction.

                              

My blog (worldofplants2020.blogspot.com)  is now in Top 50 Blogs &websites of Botany in world according to Feedpost. Now it is ranked at 39th place. Thanx to my viewers and followers.

                         Rudraksha                                                                                                                                                                         Rudraksha  ( रुद्राक्ष ) is a Sanskrit compound word consisting of Rudra (Sanskrit: रुद्र) and akṣa (Sanskrit: अक्ष ).  Rudra is one of Shiva's vedic names and Akṣa means 'teardrops'. Thus, the name means "Lord Rudra's teardrops". Rudraksha is a seed that is used as a prayer bead in Hinduism. Elaeocarpus ganitrus ( Fam.  Elaeocarpaceae ) is a large evergreen broad-leaved tree whose seed is traditionally used as Rudraksh.When its fruits are ripe, rudraksha seeds are covered by a blue outer shell and are sometimes called blueberry beads.     Various meanings and interpretations are attributed to beads with different numbers of segments or the locules of seed (mukh) [face ], and rare or unique beads are highly prized and valuable. Rudraksha beads have between 1 and 21 lines (mukhi). Recently a 27-line rudraksha was found in Nepal. 80% of all rudrakshas have four, five (most common) or six lines; those with a single line are rarest. Rudrakshas from Nepal are between 25 and 30 mm (0.98 and 1.18 in) and those from Indonesia are between 25 and 30 mm (0.98 and 1.18 in). Rudrakshas are white, red, brown (most common) yellow, and black.Gauri Shankar are two rudrakshas naturally joined together. 

                   

   

Blue fruits of Rudraksh

13 Mukhi Rudraksh

                                                                                

                                           Flowers of Rudraksh      

             KIWI FRUITS ( KIWIS)

The kiwifruit or Chinese gooseberry (sometimes shortened to kiwi) is the edible berry of a woody vine in the genus Actinidia. The genus Actinidia contains around 60 species. The most common kiwifruit is the fuzzy kiwifruit, from the species A. deliciosa. Other species that are commonly eaten include golden kiwifruit (A. chinensis), Chinese egg gooseberry (A. coriacea), baby kiwifruit (A. arguta), Arctic kiwifruit (A. kolomikta), red kiwifruit (A. melanandra), silver vine (A. polygama), purple kiwifruit (A. purpurea).

The most common cultivar group of kiwifruit is oval, about the size of a large hen's egg (5–8 cm (2.0–3.1 in) in length and 4.5–5.5 cm (1.8–2.2 in) in diameter). It has a fibrous, dull greenish-brown skin and bright green or golden flesh with rows of tiny, black, edible seeds. The fruit has a soft texture and a sweet but unique flavor, It is a commercial crop in several countries, such as Italy, New Zealand, Chile, Greece, and France.

Kiwifruit is native to north-central and eastern China. Cultivation of the fuzzy kiwifruit spread from China in the early 20th century to New Zealand, where the first commercial plantings occurred. Kiwifruit can be grown in most temperate climates with adequate summer heat.

Kiwifruit may be eaten raw, made into juices, used in baked goods, prepared with meat or used as a garnish.The whole fruit including the skin is suitable for human consumption, but the skin is often discarded due to its texture.

                         

                    

                    

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Rank 01 Most beautiful and rarest flowers in the World is......

Camellia japonica ( Middlemist's red )Fam. Theaceae

It is the most rarest flower in the world, only two examples are left in the world. You can only see middlemist red flower in New Zealand garden and green house garden of United Kingdom. It is John Middlemist a nursery man who brought this amazing plant from China to UK in 1804. After that middlemist flower completed washed out from China and surprisingly cultivated in the gardens of London. Middlemist look like rose flower found to be in deep pink color. The botanists also makes long time research to find out flowering species related to middlemist red.



                     

2nd ranker in most beautiful and rarest flower list is

Amorphophallus titanum (Corpse flower ) Family - Arecaceae

It is the largest and smelliest flower in the world. It produces a rotten meat like odor. Corpse flowers can be only found in few Islands of Indonesia, in low lying rain forest areas.Corpse flowers are only blooms in every 30 or 40 years. The leaf of corpse flower grow up to the height of 20 feet. The flower of corpse flower appears to be green outside and dark red in inside. As it became very rare the botanical gardens where corpse flower grows mainly Sumatra gardens protected under law.

                         

3rd ranker in most beautiful and rarest flower list is

Yellow and purple lady slippers

It is the rare member of orchid family located mainly in London and other areas of Europe. It is very rare to find out the combination of yellow and purple lady slippers.The yellow lady slipper can see in major part of flower, almost 3/4th of total flower and also the remaining part is in purple color. As it is very rare and features incredible beauty yellow and purple lady slippers is very expensive in the market. So that Yellow and purple lady slipper is protected by law in London.

                        

Next flower in the list is...

                    4- Parrot’s beak 
This is one of the most beautiful flower ever we can found in this world is Parrot's beak flower (Lotus berthelotii ) ( Fam.Fabaceae ) is native to Canary Islands. It is the curvature of flower like parrot’s beak makes the plant more beautiful that bring that name. Parrot’s beak blooms best in spring season in full sun shine. But we are about to miss the beautiful parrot beak plant within short time. Only a few members of the species exist in the world . The disappearance of parrot’s beak flowers started since 1884. The existing members of parrot’s beak in Canary Island are protected by law.

                       

Starting a new series of most beautiful and rarest Flowers of World....

                  Starting with...

                 05. kodupul flower 

         Rareness and beauty are the main features that make kodupul flower or Flower from the Heaven (Epiphyllum oxypetalum )( Fam. Caryophyllaceae ) so special. It is a species of cactus and one of the most cultivated species in the genus.The rare flower mainly found in forests of Sri Lanka. Only a few people got chance to feel the beauty of kodupul flowers because they bloom only at mid night and perish before the dawn. The blooming of kodupul flower will take place only under very specific circumstances. It is a very pleasant smelling flower and also one of most expensive flowers because of shorter life span. Until today no botanist can give correct explanation about the sudden death of kodupul flowers.

                                                                                                                                                     

                                 Welwitschia mirabilis

On of rarest plant and Native of Namibia.It contain only Two leaves during its whole life span of 400-1500 years.it can survive without rain water for 05 years.
  
                            

             BAOBAB TREE

 This giant, strange looking tree grows in low-lying areas all over Africa, Madagascar, and Australia.The Baobab has nine different species. It belongs to the genus Adansonia . There are only two species native to the African mainland, which are the Adansonia digitata and the Adansonia kilima. Six of the other species can be located in Madagascar and another in Australia.                        The baobab tree can grow to enormous sizes and can live up to 3,000 years.One baobab tree contains 4,500 liters (or 1,189 gallons) of water. This massive tree is known as the tree of life. The baobab, also called “mother of the forest” and Because of its trunk filled with water, the baobab is also called “bottle tree”.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Ever wonder which may be Most Expensive food consumed by Human beings ??

Tuber aestivum (Truffles) is an Ascomycetous edible fungus.it is one of the costiest food and sold in France and USA at rate of 22000 -85000 rupees /kg. Due to its high cost it is popularly called "BLACK GOLD" Dogs and pigs help in their extraction from below the soil.

                      

                          

   

CAULIFLOWER AND BROCCLI ARE THE ONLY TWO VEGETABLES WHICH ARE FLOWERS / INFLORESCENCE......

1- Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea)

Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the family Brassicaceae including cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli and collard greens.Descended from wild cabbage, cauliflowers once closely resembled kale or collards. These days, cauliflowers form a compacted head of undeveloped white flower buds called the “curd”. A tight encasing of heavy green leaves surrounds these buds. These leaves protect the cauliflower from the sun and prevent the development of chlorophyll; no chlorophyll gives this vegetable its creamy coloring.

Thought to have originated Asian Minor, records of cauliflowers in Cyprus date back to as early as the 6th century B.C.E. A thousand years later, cauliflowers had gained popularity in Turkey and Syria. From there, the cauliflower was introduced to Spain and Italy, and then on to France and the British Isles. Cauliflower made its America debut sometime in the early 17th century.

This crisp, mild vegetable is one temperamental member of the garden patch! Very difficult to cultivate, cauliflowers grow best in relatively cool, moist climates. Extremely sensitive to unfavorable conditions, cauliflowers cannot withstand any real variance in temperature. Unlike their hearty relative kale, cauliflowers will not survive a frost. Despite this vegetable’s picky disposition, California manages to produce an ample cauliflower crop year round. Arizona produces a crop from December through April.

There are three primary types of cauliflower: Early, Autumn and Overwintering, named in reference to their harvest season. Several popular traditional commercial varieties include the Snow Crown, Romanesco, and Fremont

In recent years, you may have noticed that cauliflower is no longer just white but comes in shades of green, orange and purple. The green curds are from a cross between cauliflower and broccoli and is sometimes referred to as broccoflower. The flowering heads are less dense and the flavor is milder.

A mutant cauliflower in Canada produced a line of bright orange cauliflowers, containing 25 times the amount of Vitamin A as their white counterparts. The purple variety, called Purple Cape, are high in anthocyanins – the same potent antioxidant found in many deep blue/red fruits and vegetables including red cabbage, red grapes and berries.

2-- Broccoli. (Brassica oleracea )

Broccoli is an edible green plant in the cabbage family whose large flowerhead is eaten as a vegetable.
Broccoli is a result of careful breeding of cultivated leafy cole crops in the northern Mediterranean starting in about the 6th century BC.Since the time of the Roman Empire, broccoli has been considered a uniquely valuable food among Italians. Broccoli was brought to England from Antwerp in the mid-18th century by Peter Scheemakers.Broccoli was first introduced to the United States by Italian immigrants, but did not become widely known there until the 1920s.

The word broccoli comes from the Italian plural of broccolo, which means "the flowering crest of a cabbage", and is the diminutive form of brocco, meaning "small nail" or "sprout".Broccoli is often boiled or steamed but may be eaten raw.

Broccoli is classified in the Italica cultivar group of the species Brassica oleracea. Broccoli has large flower heads, usually green in color, arranged in a tree-like structure branching out from a thick, edible stalk. The mass of flower heads is surrounded by leaves. Broccoli resembles cauliflower, which is a different cultivar group of the same species.

                            

      

                          

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED , WHAT CAUSES A MUDDY EARTHY SMELL AFTER RAIN....???     

Answer ...GEOSMIN

Geosmin is an organic compound with a distinct earthy flavor and aroma produced by a type of Actinobacteria, and is responsible for the strong scent that occurs in the air when rain falls after a dry spell of weather.
Geosmin is produced by the gram-positive bacteria Streptomyces, a genus of Actinobacteria in the order Actinomycetales, and released when these microorganisms die. Communities whose water supplies depend on surface water can periodically experience episodes of unpleasant-tasting water when a sharp drop in the population of these bacteria releases geosmin into the local water supply. Under acidic conditions, geosmin decomposes into odorless substances.
The human nose is extremely sensitive to geosmin and is able to detect it at concentrations as low as 5 parts per trillion.
Geosmin is responsible for the muddy smell in many commercially important freshwater fish such as carp and catfish.                                                                                          

The Strange Dragon Blood Tree

Many beautiful, interesting, and strange plants live on our planet. One very unusual species is the Socotra Island dragon blood tree, or Dracaena cinnabari. This tree not only has a very distinctive appearance but also releases a red sap, or resin, that is known as dragon's blood. People have collected and used the resin for many years.

According to legend, the first dragon blood tree was created from the blood of a dragon that was wounded when it fought an elephant. Like the unfortunate dragon, the tree secretes its resin when it's injured. In ancient times, the resin was believed to have magical and medicinal properties. People used it as a pigment for art, a dye, and a medicine. Dragon's blood is still used for these purposes today.

Socotra Island is part of an archipelago off the coast of Yemen and Somalia. A fascinating and unique group of plants and animals live on the islands of the archipelago. Conservation of these organisms is very important for maintaining the Earth's biodiversity.

The dragon blood tree is also known as the dragon's blood tree and the Socotra dragon tree. It's an evergreen plant that is native to the islands of the Socotra archipelago. It belongs to the botanical family called the Asparagaceae, which also contains the asparagus that is eaten as a vegetable.

   Do you know Bhojpatra ???

Betula utilis (Himalayan birch, (भोजपत्र)) is a birch tree native to the Himalayas, growing at elevations up to 4,500 m (14,800 ft). The specific epithet, utilis, refers to the many uses of the different parts of the tree
The bark of Himalayan birch was used centuries ago in India as paper for writing lengthy scriptures and texts in Sanskrit and other scripts, particularly in historical Kashmir. Its use as paper for books is mentioned by early Sanskrit writers Kalidasa (c. 4th century CE), Sushruta (c. 3rd century CE), and Varahamihira (6th century CE). In the late 19th century, Kashmiri pandits reported all of their books were written on Himalayan birch bark until Akbar introduced paper in the 16th century.
  

 Is Tomato a Vegetable or a Fruit?

We think the tomato is a vegetable, but it is actually a fruit. Because it is not sweet and is used for providing flavour to food, we think of it as a vegetable.The tomato is originally from Mexico. The word “tomato” comes from the Spanish tomate, which in turn comes from the Nahuatl word tomatotl. Spanish explorers who went to South America about 500 years ago, brought back the tomato to Europe. The French called them love apples, while the British called them apples of gold.The first people in Europe to eat tomatoes were Italians. As far back as 500 years ago, the joys of eating fried tomato with salt and pepper, was known to them. They discovered that tomato made a very good companion to pasta and cheese dishes.
                                 

In other countries like England, tomatoes were thought to have poison in them. That is because tomatoes were related to poisonous plants called the belladonna. But people grew them in their gardens because of their attractive colour and look. They even thought that tomatoes caused fatal diseases. But they soon got over their fear of the trait.
It is believed that the British brought the tomato to India. This was about 300 years ago. Gradually, the people of Bengal started discovering that the tomato gave a good flavour to their curries. Today, the whole world is crazy about the tomato, whether it is in the form of ketchup, soup or curry flavour.

Do you know , what is HYDROSEEDING ????

                      Dropping Trees from the Sky is Hydroseeding

Finally there is a simple solution to the growing problems of deforestation and the greenhouse effect – dropping millions of trees out of an aircraft.The idea may sound bizarre but it has come from The Lockheed Martin Aerospace Company, USA. The company has proposed to transform equipments installed in huge C-130 military transport planes for laying carpets of landmines across combat zones, to plant trees in barren areas.
A company named Areal Forestation Inc. has already been set up to market the idea. According to a spokesperson at Lockheed,”There are 2,500 C-130 planes in 70 countries, so the delivery system for planting forests is widely available as most planes are lying in military hangers, waiting for someone to hire them.”

The promoters believe that with the new planting system, almost 900,000 young trees can be planted in a day. The possiblities are amazing as planes can fly at 1,000 feet, planting more than 3,000 trees cones a minute in a pattern across the landscape. Each cone contains a sapling and that’s around 900,000 trees in a day. The tree cones are pointed and designed to bury themselves in the ground at a uniform depth as if they had been planted by hand. They contain fertilisers and a material that soaks up surrounding moisture, watering the roots of the tree. The containers are made of a kind of metal that biogrades immediately so that the tree can put its roots into the soil.                                                                                                           
The argument is – a man on the ground can only plant 1,000 trees a day so if we are to combat global warming, airborne planting is probably the only way. It is believed that the system will work in any area that used to contain trees and even in deserts.

We can take comfort in the fact that new forests have been ‘grown’. But there is not much awareness of the harm such manipulated forests can cause to depleted ecosystems.

Replacement trees are less able to resist drought, cold, pests and diseases because they grow only in a specific type of land, and not in the complex forest ecosystems that have evolved naturally over the years.

 Five Giants of the Plant kingdom

1.The tallest yet less perfumed flower

The Titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) has been discovered by Odoardo Beccari, in the Sumatran raiforest in 1878. During the blooming, which lasts only 3 days per year, it can reach 3 metres of height, and up to 75 kg of weight. However, it smells of decomposing organic matter. Anglo-Saxon countries in fat call it the “corpse flower”
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2.The tallest grass

Bamboo belongs to the same family of oat, barley and wheat, but it is…higher! A particular kind of Asian bamboo, native to Central China, the Phyllostachys, can reach 30 metres of height and it grows like weeds. Due to its dimensions, it is used to create furniture or realise paving similar to parquet.

                             

3.The tallest tree

By way of comparison, baobab, which reaches 30 metres of height and 7 metres of diameter, seems a dwarf plant. The Sequoia Sempervirens is the arboreal species that counts the highest number of the world’s tallest plants: the tallest tree is in California, and it has been named Hyperion. It is 115.5 metres high. California is also home to the most ancient sequoia, named the President, and experts think it is 3,200 years old. 
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4.The largest mashroom colony

The fungus individuals are located in the Blue Mountains, Oregon, United States, and together they represent the world’s largest living organism. According to the scientific magazine Scientific American, the colony composed by mushrooms of the Amillaria Ostoyae species, discovered in 1998 by the State Forestry Corps, extends for 965 hectares, equal to 1,665 soccer fields. The age could vary from 2,400 to 8,600 years.
                                 

5.The largest vegetable structure

The world’s largest bamboo labyrinth is located in Italy, in the province of Parma. The structure is an area of 8 hectares, 5 metres of height, with 3 kilometre-long galleries. It is designed to host an art collection, a library, a restaurant and a small shop of local products.