Vajradanti

 Vajradanti Barleria prionitis is used for dental problems in Ayurveda. In Sanskrit Vajra means diamond and Danta  meas tooth.. The use of this plant is supposed to give one teeth as hard as diamonds.The flowers are large and white. There is anothervariety of Vajradanti with yellow flowers.

This plant is used in Ayurveda to treat coug, cold, asthma, bronchitis and even tuberculosis.

Unknown wild flower

I came across tis wild flower in a friend's garden in the Western Ghats. It seems to be a cousin of Gloxinia. It might be a garden escape too.

Jungle Plantain

 Ensete superbum  is known as Kadu bale in Kannada and Kallvalai in Tamil. It grows in arid, unfertile regions of the Western Ghats. The fruit are not edible as they have numerous black seeds, hard as small pebbles.

 The Jungle plantain is sometimes grown as an ornamental in some gardens. It is supposed to have medicinal qualities.

You can see some interesting blogs at Our World Tuesday.

The Mangroves of Sundarban

 Flower of the mangrove tree Bruguiera.
Sundarban area is a large wetland area in West Bengal in India and Bangladesh. this area has been created by the tidal activities in the river systems comprising of Bidyadhari, Piali and Malta., as well as the Ganga- Brahmaputra delta.  Sundarban is named after the Sundari tree , a mangrove tree, which is found everywhere here. The people of Sundarbans are mostly muslims and Hindus, and they speak Bengali.
Wild boars, deer and monitor lizards are to be seen everywhere. The most famous denizen of the Sundarbans is the royal bengal tiger. This large carnivore is also a maneater.
One travels by boat from one island to another in this area. 

Selenium Wallichianum- a Himalayan Wildflower

Wildflower enthusiasts will be wonderstruck by the beauty of Wallaich's Selenium in the Valley of Flowers. This flower is also known as Milk Parsley and Wallaich's Everlasting.

Velvet Bean- the itchy plant.

 Velvet bean, Mucuna pruriens is an annual creeper which flowers in November and December. The flower clusters are a beautiful purple and white.

Velvet bean is called Nasugunne in Kannada. It is a native of India and Africa. The leaves when young, cause itchiness if you touch them. The fruit of this plant is covered with orange hairs, and they cause severe itch if touched.

The seeds of the Mucuna pruriens is used to treat Parkinson's disease in Ayurveda and Unani medicine, as they contain L dopa. Extracts from the plant is used to treat cobra bite .

The plant covers any small tree near it completely in its growing season.

Lichen

 Lichens are composite organisms. In a lichen, algae and cyanobacteria live among the filaments of a fungus, They help each other to survive. The fungus benefits by the relationship, because algae and cyanobacteria produce food by photosynthesis. The algae and bacteria benefit as they are protected by the filaments of the fungus, which also attracts moisture. 
Lichens can grow on bare rock, or on living trees too. They use the branches only for support. They can survive in very harsh environments.

Lichens come in different colours and textures. I found orange, black and white lichens on the rock above.
Some lichen found in the Western Ghats is a major component of the curry powder. Now,I believe it is forbidden to gather those lichens from the forest.
Lichens warn us of pollution in the air. They are useful for assessing pollution levels.
I thank Mrs.Nesbitt, the founder of ABCWednesday, and Roger and his team who so ably are carrying it forward.