“It is sad when flowers refuse to smile back at you”. ‘Flowers’- the most inspiring element behind the human aesthetics from time immemorial. These gorgeous blooms have been the subject of many aspiring poems and hold a divine place in human culture, and his holy rituals and medical practices. They also fetch profits in the global market which promotes floriculture. Flowering plants are the dominant group among plant kingdom and their species diversity is roughly estimated to be 2,40,000. The Aster Family (Asteraceae) which includes Helianthus annus (Sunflower), Chrysanthemum, Senecio etc., ranks first in terms of diversity (about 21, 000 species). It is believed that flowering plants appeared on earth around 135 million years ago, which certainly saw the evolution of mammals and birds!
Context: Another spring season has arrived, and the plants are in full blooms compelling us to talk about their charm. Here is an attempt to popularise some exotic flowers, which are buried in our memories, even though they are common in gardens, in fields and home premises. As we all know, the rose is considered to be the queen of flowers, but it will be interesting to conduct a beauty contest among some commonly seen flowers in the backdrop of International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) 2010.
Criteria: Ten floral beauties are selected on the basis of following qualities and one among them will be selected as the “Queen”. The criteria are (1). Flower should be small because ‘small is beautiful’ (2). Must be colour ful and blooms in more than one season (3). Flowers those are long living. (4). The plant must have some cultural/medicinal value (5). Escape from rarity and can be easily grown.
Contestants: Though flowers are usually related with fragrance we are omitting this criterion because those, which possess this quality, are mostly white coloured and usually bloom at night. Orchids are also excluded from this selection because they need high caring and have only ornamental value. Then, the participants and their characters are given below.
Chest No. 001 (c) GRASSNEST
001. Torenia travancorica A trailing annual herb belongs to the ‘Figwort family’ (Scrophulariaceae). Commonly known as Kakkapoo (in Malayalam). Native of Peninsular India. Leaves deltoid with serrate margin. Stem 4-angled, Flowers 2-3 cm across. Peak of flowering occurs after monsoon. Leaves used in traditional medicines.
Chest No. 002 (c) GRASSNEST
002. Biophytum reinwardtii Annual erect herb belongs to the ‘Wood-sorrel’ family (Oxalidaceae). Commonly known as ‘Little tree plant’ (‘Mukkutti’ in Malayalam). Native to South East Asia. Leaves crowded towards the apex, leaflets somewhat sensitive to touch. Flowers upto 1cm across, strongly nerved. Flowering occurs in most of the seasons. Plant used in traditional medicines. Flower is included in the *‘Dasapushpas’ and used in making ‘Athapookkalam’ (floral carpet).
Chest No. 003 (c) GRASSNEST
003. Ipomoea quamoclit Annual climber, belongs to the ‘Glory family’ (Convolvulaceae). Commonly known as ‘Cypress wine’ (Akashamulla in Malayalam). Dissected leaves resembling fish bones. Flowers upto 2cm across. Flowering occurs in December-January. Plant used in traditional medicines.
Chest No. 4
004. Evolvulus alsinoides A perennial trailing herb belongs to the Convolvulaceae family. Commonly known as ‘little glory’ (Vishnukranthi in Malayalam). Native of Sri Lanka and India. Flowers upto 1 cm across. Usually flowers in July-November. Plant used in traditional medicines and the flower is included in the ‘Dasapushpas’.
Chest No. 5 (c) GRASSNEST
005. Mimosa pudica A low growing prickly shrub belongs to the Family Mimosaceae. Leaves are compound, sensitive to touch. Commonly known as ‘touch-me-not’ (Thottavaadi in Malayalam). Native of Tropical America. Flowers upto 2 cm across. Flowering in September-October. Roots and leaves are used in traditional medicine and flowers used in making floral carpet.
Chest No. 6 (c) GRASSNEST
006. Portulacca grandiflora A succulent herb with fleshy leaves belongs to the family Portulacaceae. Commonly known as ‘Sun plant’ (Pathumanichedi in Malayalam). Native of Brazil. Flowers upto 2cm across, and short lived. Flowering occurs in August–December.
Chest No. oo7 (c) GRASSNEST
007. Impatiens walleriana Annual succulent herb belongs to the family Balsaminaceae. Commonly known as ‘Patient luzy’. Native of Zanzibar. Flowers 3-4 cm across. Flowering in August–December. Many garden varieties of this species are common. The generic name Impatiens refers to the ‘exploding’ ripe fruits which burst out scattering their seeds to long distance!
Chest No. 8 (c) GRASSNEST
008. Catharanthus roseus A perennial shrub with shiny dark green leaves, belongs to the ‘Oleander’ family (Apocynaceae). Commonly known as ‘Madagascar periwinkle’ (Shavamnaari in Malayalam). Native of Madagascar. Flowers upto 3 cm across. Flowering usually in August-November. Plant used in modern and traditional medicines.
Chest No. 9 (c) GRASSNEST
009. Wedelia chinensis A trailing perennial herb belongs to the Sunflower family (Asteracae). Commonly known as ‘aswagandhi’ in Malayalam. Leaves used in hair care and traditional medicines. Flowers upto 3 cm across. Flowering in June-December.
Chest No. 010 (c) GRASSNEST
010. Utricularia reticulata A small annual herb belongs to the ‘Bladderwort’ Family (Lentibulariaceae). Commonly found in wet places. It is insectivorous, have rhizoids and foliar organs and ‘traps’ to catch insects!. Native of Western Ghats. Flowers 1 cm across. Flowering in August – November.
Crown: Which of the above would you choose as the ‘Queen’? All the above mentioned flowers are colourful, attractive and some possess medicinal values as well. In addition to having all the other criteria only two flowers (‘Mukkutti’ and ‘Vishnukranthi’) are included in the ‘Daspushpas’, which differentiate them from the others. Being a contest, we can select only a single winner which may satisfy all the criterions to be a winner. As per the authors’ judgement, it’s most appealing to select the ‘Mukkutti’ (Biophytum reinwardtii) as the queen among the other floral beauties! This tiny charming yellow flower can be seen in most of the seasons whereas the runner-up ‘Vishnukranthi’ (Evolvulus alsinoides) blooms only during spring season.
As Keats said “a thing of beauty is joy for ever”, flowers shower their beauty and fragrance to their surroundings and capturing all ‘living hearts’ with their endless charm. They are inseparable from humans and play a relevant role in his arts, science, philosophy and spiritualism. There has been an interesting controversy as to which is more beautiful -Women or flower ? Whatever may be the outcome we can definitely say that women have a passion for flowers and both of them can be considered as the glorious gift of god to mankind.
‘Flower-watching’ is as interesting as ‘Bird-watching’ and ‘Butterfly-watching’ and can be an inexpensive hobby unless your eyes and hearts are open to see these colourful creations that make this World more beautiful with their magic spell.
Rererence: Kiranraj, M. S. & Radhika Raj. 2010. A ‘beauty contest’ among flowers. Science India 13(4): 4-8 (Cover Article)
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