The Golden Nose Stud!

The Mukkutti (or Mukkuthi), as it is called in the lacal language is a small flowering plant that grows in somewhat moist ground. Mostly the ground wher it grows si found tyo be covered in moss (probably because of the moisture).

The plant bears small yellow flowers that appear somewhat like the Golden Studs worn by some ladies in their noses. (The word 'Mukkuthi' in local lingo means 'Nose Stud'). The flowers appear fully open in the mornings and tend to close up by afternoon.

I don't know the botanical name of the plant nor am aware of any other qualities of the plant

Hibiscus - Chemparathi.

Another plant which grows freely in the compound is the flowering plant, Hibiscus, known as 'Chemparathi' in the local language.

There are four varieties of the plant that grow here. The most common one is the standard red variety with five petals. The plant generally has a thick foliage with dark green leaves. The leaves are used as green manure, especially while preparing the field for Paddy cultivation.

Another variety has similar red flowers; but, instead of five petals it has a multiple petals all bunched up like in a Rose flower. This plant too has somewhat thick foliage though the leaves are slightly smaller.

A third variety has slightly larger organge coloured flowers. With the sunlight falling directly on it, it appears yellowish instead of oranage. This plant has a comparatively sparse foliage and the leaves are somewhat light green coloured.

A fourth variety of the plant bears red flowers with whitish border and a white patch inside too. This too has sparse foliage with leaves of a lighter green colour.

Karpoora Thulasi

This is one of the various plants of which I have no information except that it is called 'Karpoora Thulasi' in the local language. 'Karpooram', means Camphor and 'Thulasi' is a common plant considered to be sacred by Hindus (its scientific name, I believe, is 'Ocimum Sanctum').

The plant, sort of a creeper, grows from stem cuttings. The leaf, when plucked, gives out a somewhat sweet but, pungent smell. The plant is said to have some medicinal uses although I don't know when and for what it is used.

Papayas .. aplenty!!

Papaya plants grow freely in the compound and you come across them wherever you turn. Thankfully most of them are female plants and bear fruits.

Ripe papaya fruits are quite tasty, especially during summer when they tend to be sweeter than during the rainy season and are considered quite nutritious. It is a preferred fruit for those with a complaint of constipation since the fruit is considered to ease bowel movements. I had come across a recipe for making wine out of ripe papayas though I haven’t tried it out as yet. Probably you’ll need to grow papayas as a commercial crop to be able to make any sizeable quantity of wine.

Unfortunately keeping track of the maturing fruits and plucking them when they are ready to ripen is a tedious job especially when the tree is tall, as those growing in the shade tend to be. They get noticed by the squirrels and birds much before us; earth-bound humans.

A spotted Koel having a repast of a ripe Papaya fruit.

Papaya trees growing in the open are normally short and the fruits could be plucked quite easily. However, those that grow in the shade of other trees tend to grow quite tall (in an attempt to get maximum sunlight) and you have to use a long pole to remove the fruits. The trees are not strong enough to be climbed on to. Some of the tall trees find the weight of the fruits too much to bear, break in the middle and come crashing down scattering the fruits all around.

We haven’t as yet found much use for the raw papaya fruits. It is not a preferred vegetable though sometimes we do make use of them in curries as a substitute for Ash gourd, Pumpkin or Cucumber. Grated raw papaya cooked lightly with coconut, onions and garlic after seasoning makes a tasty side dish. I have heard that raw papaya is used for making pickles though I haven’t tried it as yet.

Ash Gourd on the Yam Plant!!?

If you roam around in the compound, sometimes you come across some funny sights; all works of nature!

There is an 'Ash gourd' plant growing in the wild right in front of our house. Probably it grew up from the seeds of a spoilt Ash gourd that was thrown away or from bird droppings. A few days back I was looking around to see if it is bearing any gourds since there were quite a few flowers. I came across a couple of them, one hanging from the stem of a 'Yam' (Elephant Yam) plant growing nearby.

About four days later when I went to check up on it, I could not locate the gourd readily, nor the Yam plant from which it was hanging. After a bit of searching around I located the gourd resting on the ground. As the gourd grew larger, the stem of the Yam plant found it too heavy to support and bent down leaving the Ashgourd to rest on the ground.

One funny thing that I have noticed over the years is that many times the plants that grow up on their own in the wild survive much better and bear more fruits than the ones that we plant and tend to, with care! May be, growing up on their own in the wild, the plants develop immunity to some of the common pests which they don't when we tend to them and afford protection. Or it may be that the some of wild plants and grass that grow around them afford better protection to them from the pests than the best insecticides (organic or otherwise) that we use to protect them.

A Flower that Changes Colour.

Most of the days as I get up in the morning and come out on to the terrace, I am welcomed by a pure white flower.

It blooms on a plant which is almost 3 meters (nearly 9 Ft.) tall and has large green leaves. By noon the flower acquires a pinkish tinge and by evening it becomes dark pink.

The flower is similar to the Rose in appearance though much larger than the normal rose flower. The plant has no thorns as is usual among roses.

I have so far not come across the fruit or seed of the plant and have no idea about its method of propagation; whether through seeds, from roots or from cuttings from the stem. Nor have I been able to ascertain its name.

Wonder whether any of you can help in identifying the plant!

A Grand Old Mango Tree!

Perhaps, nothing conveys the sense of age or maturity as a fully grown tree. The picture shows a grand old mango tree which has been there for at least as long as I can remember. It is one of those native varieties (not any of the fancy ones that make the fruit famous all over the world) bearing small but quite tasty fruits every alternate year.

Once in a while when it really gets into the mood it bears so many fruits that it literally 'Carpets Bombs' you (in the words of my son!) if you happen to be standing underneath it. Unfortunately, the tree being so tall, you hardly get any of them in proper shape since most of them get broken, if not mashed, by the time they fall down.

The vine that you see climbing from its base (almost upto a third of its height) is a 'Black Pepper' plant.