A Short note of different type of plants

Desert plants

Elephant Tree

This plant is a rare plant in the US in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park region, Sonoran Desert and also found in the Santa Rosa Mountains and also in some parts of the south western part of the Arizona. This plant is typically designed to adapt to desert climate, with a thick trunk that stores water for days. It is small in size and its branches are quite small in comparison to the size of its trunk. It also stores water in its lower limbs and wood, apart from the trunk. The foliage of the plant is quite lightly distributed which has flat, long, legume like leaves and exist in paired leaflets. The flowers are born as rounded yellow structures in the bud form and slowly blossom into beautiful small, star shaped white or cream colored flowers. Most of the species of this plant are drought deciduous owing to the warm climatic conditions and has leaves throughout the year, except in drought and extreme cold weather.

Organ Pipe Cactus

This species of cactus is commonly found in the rocky deserts of Mexico and the US. It has narrow stems that grow straight from a small trunk just above the ground. These stems usually do not grow into branches and spread out but they grow a little every year from the tip of each of the stem. It takes about 150 years for a plant to reach the mature stage. The older plants produce purple or light pink tinted flowers which have a special characteristic. These flowers remain opened during the night and by the time the sun rises, they close again. The fruits these plants produce are said to be tastier than watermelon. They serve as food to the native Americans and are also used as medicines. These plants are pollinated by bats.

Under water

Kelps

Kelps are seaweeds and grow in nutrient-rich, shallow ocean belts. They belong to the algae family and need a temperature range of 6⁰ C to 14⁰ C to grow. Ranging over a variety of thirty genera they are burnt to sodium bicarbonate, alkali and iodine. Kelps proliferate at a tremendous rate and serve as shelter for a large number of organisms. It has been found that kelps can be used as renewable source energy and does not require irrigation. Kelps have now become endangered as the number is dwindling as a result of overfishing, water pollution and other environmental changes

POSIDONIA

Posidonia is a flowering plant and is generally called seagrass. They are mainly found in the Mediterranean and Australian marine waters and are of approximately nine varieties of which the flowering genus is nomenclature the Neptune grass. They grow in hygienic conditions and their profusion implies the water is clean and not polluted. Products like natural phenols, phenylmethanne derivatives, chalkones, flavonols, 5-alpha-cholestanes and so on are obtained from Posidonia.

HILLY AREAS PLANTS

 Kumarika is a prickly climbing plant having quadrangular branches. It is found in the hilly areas throughout tropical India from the Himalayas to the state of Kerala at an altitude of about 2500 meters. This species is also native to Java. The Botanical name of this plant is Smilax wightii. In different Indian languages Kumarika is known in various other names like Chobchini, Ramdatun and Jan-Gli Aushbah in Hindi, Kaltamara, Karivilanti in Malayalam, Vanamadhusnahi in Sanskrit, Kondagurvatiga and Kondatamara in Telugu, Kaadu Hambu Thaavare in Kannada, Ghotvel, Guti, Gholyel and Gutwel in Marathi and Kattu-Kodi, Periyakanni and Malaittamarai in Tamil.

Dracunculus vulgaris is a species of aroid in the genus Dracunculus and is known variously as the common dracunculus, dragon arum, the black arum, the voodoo lily, the snake lily, thestink lily, the black dragon, the black lily, dragonwort, and ragons. In Greece, part of its native range, the plant is called drakondia, the long spadix being viewed as a small dragon hiding in the spathe.^[1]

·          Ajashrangi is found in dry forests in the hilly areas of Bihar, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. This plant is also found in southern India at an elevation of 650 metres. In Central India, it is abundantly found on soils derived from sandstone. The botanical name of Ajashrangi is Gymnema sylvestre (Retz.). It has several common names which vary according the different Indian province. This Indian medicinal plant is known as Gadalshingi, Merasingi and Meshasingi in Bengali, Australian Cow Plant and Periploca of The Woods in English, Chhotadudhilata, Gur-mar, and Merasingi in Hindi, Dhuleti and Mardashingi in Gujarati, Ajashrangi, Ajashringi, Meshashrangi and Meshashringi in Sanskrit and Kakarsingi, Kakrasingi and Mendhasingi in Urdu.

Plain area palnts

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is one of the few crop species that originated in North America (most originated in the fertile crescent, Asia or South or Central America). It was probably a "camp follower" of several of the western native American tribes who domesticated the crop (possibly 1000 BC) and then carried it eastward and southward of North America. The first Europeans observed sunflower cultivated in many places from southern Canada to Mexico.

The rose is a type of flowering shrub. Its name comes from the Latin word Rosa.^[1] The flowers of the rose grow in many different colors, from the well-known red rose to yellow roses and sometimes white or purple roses. Roses belong to the family of plants calledRosaceae. All roses were originally wild and they come from several parts of the world, North America, Europe, northwest Africa and many parts of Asia and Oceania. There are over 100 different species of roses. The wild rose species can be grown in gardens, but most garden roses are cultivars, which have been chosen by people.^[2]
Over hundreds of years they have been specially bred to produce a wide variety of growing habits and a broad range of colours from dark red to white including as well yellow and a bluish/lilac colour. Many roses have a strong, pleasant scent. Most roses have prickles(incorrectly called thorns) on their stems. Rose bushes are able to tolerate a wide variety of growing conditions. The fruit of the rose is called a hip. Some roses have decorative hips.

Floating plants

Fairy Moss (Azolla caroliniana) & Duckweed (Lemna minor)
A mixture of the tiny floating fern, Fairy Moss, and the small floating plant known as Duckweed. Fairy Moss and Duckweed are great in veggie filters for removing nitrates (fertilizer) that is left at the end of the biological cycle. Fairy Moss has tiny leaves are green in shade and deep red in sun. Duckweed is one of the smallest floating aquatic ferns with tiny tri-lobed green leaves. Both help provide coverage and shade to help starve out algae. Fish also love to nibble on both.
Anacharis (Elodea)  
Anacharis is a great plant that helps naturally remove nitrate (fertilizer) from the water. It can be potted or floated freely. It is also a great plant for fish to lay their eggs in. Anacharis grows very will in aquariums and ponds and will survive in cold water. (6 stems- 6" long or longer

Watershield (Brasenia schreberi)

Common names: Dollar bonnet.

Location: Clear, soft water to depths of 10 feet.

Description: Leaves float on the water surface; stems are firmly rooted; leaves are oval-shaped, 2 to 5 inches long, green on the top and purple on the underside; a dull-purple flower about 1-inch long blooms in June.

Hints to identify: Leaves are similar to a lily pad's but are smaller and have no slit; flowers are smaller than the water lily's; stem is attached to the center of the leaf; has a clear, jelly-like coating on the stem and the underside of each leaf.

Importance of plant: Provides shade and cover for panfish, largemouth bass, and northern pike; is eaten by waterfowl.

Management strategy: See DNR regulations. Because watershield provides good habitat for fish, be conservative, remove only enough to obtain access. If you must treat the plant with an herbicide, begin in early summer before the jelly-like coating develops on the leaves.

Duckweeds and Watermeal (Lemna minor, Spirodela polyriza, Wolffia columbiana) 

Common names: Lesser duckweed, duck's meat, water lentil.

Location: Ponds and quiet backwaters of lakes and streams; some duckweeds are often found near creek inlets or in ditches. Rarely will duckweed become overly abundant on lakes and large ponds exposed to wind and heavy wave action. Watermeal is often found growing with duckweed.

Description: Tiny, free-floating green plants. Watermeal resembles small grains floating on the water surface; no roots are present. Duckweed typically consists of a leaf or cluster of leaves with small roots that hang down into the water; leaves and stem are not distinguishable from each other.

Hints to identify: From a distance, duckweed is often mistaken for algae; it may form a thick, green blanket on the water surface. Duckweed is not interconnected, as is filamentous algae. Watermeal resembles green cornmeal floating in the water.

Importance of plants: Provide food for waterfowl and marsh birds; support insects that fish eat. However, may shade out larger, submerged plants.

Management strategy: See DNR regulations. Because duckweed and watermeal reproduce rapidly and are small, effective control is difficult. If control is absolutely necessary, try using aquatic herbicides.

Sea shearing

Sea Poison Tree Barringtonia asiatica Fish Poison Tree, Putat Laut/Butun/Butong/Pertun (Malay) A large tree that grows on sandy and rocky shores, it has large leaves held in rosettes at the ends of branches. The young leaves are a beautiful bronze with pinkish veins. Old leaves turn yellowish. The flowers are delightful puff balls of white stamens tipped with pink. They open at night and attract large moths and nectar-feeding bats with their heavy scent. The next morning, the flower stamens are usually found strewn beneath the tree. The fruits have a typical lantern shape and float on the water. The fruit can survive drifting on the sea for long distances and for periods of up to 2 years. They were among the first seeds to arrive on the island of Krakatau when it first emerged out of the sea.	Main features:Mangrove associate. Grows up to 25m. Bark: Grey, smooth. Leaves: Large, simple, egg-shaped, shiny. Flowers: Night-blooming flowers appear on a long spike from the centre of a leaf group. Flower is a puff ball of stamens with four small white petals. Fruits: Lantern-shaped, floats on water. Green at first, turning brown when ripe. Status in Singapore:Common. World distribution:Coasts of the Indian to Western Pacific Oceans from Africa, India to Southeast Asia and Polynesia. Classification: Family Lecythidaceae. World 2 mangrove associated species.

The outermost layer of the fruit wall is green turning brown when ripe. The middle layer is spongy and contains air sacs to help the fruit float. The innermost layer is hard and thick to protect the seed (the layers of spongy and hard coverings are somewhat similar to the coconut).

Uses: All parts of the tree contain, saponin, a poison. The seeds and other parts of the plant are pounded, pulped or grated to release the poison and used to stun fish in freshwater streams. The floating seeds are sometimes used as fishing floats. A colourful shady tree, it is commonly planted as a roadside tree in Singapore.

Traditional medicinal uses: The heated leaves are used to treat stomach ache and rheumatism (Philippines); seeds are used to get rid of intestinal worms.

Role in the habitat: It is among the plants that host the magnificent Atlas Moth.