eChapters

Common name    :    English- Annatto
        Hindi- Latkan/Kumkum 
        Odia- Kumkuma

Family    :    Bixaceae

Habit & Distribution 
The plant is a shrub (Fig. 19 a), cultivated and naturalized, also planted in gardens. It is frequently cultivated throughout India.

Common name    :    English- Butterfly tree
        Hindi- Khairwal
        Odia- Kuilari          
Family    :    Caesalpiniaceae

Habit & Distribution 
It is a moderate sized tree (Fig. 18a), seen frequently in forests and often planted. It is distributed in foothill areas also and cultivated throughout India.

General Characters
The plant is a moderate sized tree with ashy or dark brown bark color. Leaves are often oblong, about 5-18, deeply lobed from one third way down to nearly the base with scarcely overlapping. Flowers are purple, large on terminal panicled racemes. Pods are 15-30×18-25 cm long, narrow below, somewhat broadening upwards. The plant flowers during September-February and bears fruits during February-March.

Common name    :    English- Indian spinach
        Hindi- Poi 
        Odia- Poi
Family    :    Basellaceae

Habit & Distribution 
The plant is a twining herb (Fig. 17 a), commonly cultivated and often found in wild state on rocky grassy hill sides. Also widely cultivated throughout India.

General Characters
It is a twining succulent herb with green stem and petioles. Leaves of the plant are broadly ovate and green to purplish in colour. Flowers are pinkish or purple in colour. Fruits are berries, ovoid or depressed-globose, turns black after ripening with deep purple juice.

Common name    :    English- Percupine Flower
        Hindi- Jhinti 
        Odia- Daskaranta

Family    :    Acanthaceae 

Habit & Distribution
The plant is a shrub (Fig. 16 a), common in waste places, roadsides and dry places. It is distributed throughout India.

Common name    :    English- Bamboo
        Hindi- Bans
        Odia- Baunsa
Family    :    Gramineae (Poaceae)

Habit & Distribution
It is a perennial tree (Fig. 15a), family common in mixed forest or dry hills, and often found in shady slopes and allovial plains.

Common name    :    English- Neem tree
        Hindi- Neem
        Odia- Nimba
Family    :    Meliaceae

Habit & Distribution
The plant is a tree (Fig. 14 a), very commonly planted and often self shown. Also seen in forests as well as in wild. It is cultivated and naturalized throughout India.

General Charcter
The leaf of the plant is about 20-38 cm in length, leaflets 5-9 pairs and obliguely lanceolate. Flower is white in clolour and fragrant. The plant bark, leaves and flowers are bitter in taste. The plant bears flowers during February to May. The plant fruiting occurs during June to July.

Common name    :    English- Jack Fruits
        Hindi- Kathal
        Odia- Panasa

Family    :    Moraceae

Habit & Distribution
It is a tree (Fig. 13 a) found in wild as well as cultivated in farms. It was introduced and has become naturalized in many parts of India.

General Characters
The plant is an evergreen tree that grows up to 20-30 meter tall and 80-200 cm in diameter with evergreen, alternate, glossy, leathery leaves reaching up to 9 inch long. Leaves are oval in mature trees. All parts of the plant contain sticky, white latex. Inflorescence is solitary, borne axillary on special lateral short leafy shoots arising from older branches. Fruits are large arising from the tree trunk and weighting about 10-50 kg. the exterior of the fruit is green or yellow when ripe and composed of numerous hard, cone like points attached to a thick and rubbery, pale yellow or whitish wall. The plant flowers during December-February and bears fruits during June-July.

Common name    :    English - Wire grass/spread grass
        Odia- Suan
Family    :    Poaceae

Habit & Distribution
It is a herb (Fig. 12 a) widely found in agricultural lands, hill sides, road sides, river bank etc. It is distributed throughout India.

General Characters
The plant ascending to erect, grows up to 3-4 feet in height. The leaves may be flat or rolled. The inflorescence either panicle like or raceme with spiky branches. Flowers are tiny and hairs like awns seen protruding from each flower. The plant flowers during September-November.

Common name    :    English- Betelnut
        Hindi- Supari
        Odia- Gua
Family    :    Arecaceae

Habit & Distribution 
The plant is a tree, (Fig. 11 a) naturalized and commonly cultivated throughout India.

General Character
The plant is perennial, grows up to 20 meters in height and 8-12 inches in diameter. The stem is solitary, slender and erect. The leaf of the plant is 1.5-2 meter long, pinnate with numerous crowded leaflets. Fruit is a coriaceous drupe, ovoid, 3.7-5 cm, smooth orange, with a single seed with truncate base. The plant flowers and bears fruits throughout the year.

Common name     :    English- Onion
        Hindi- Pyaz
        Odia- Piaja

Family    :    Amaryllidaceae

Habit & Distribution 
It is a herb (Fig. 10 a). The plant is commonly cultivated along the river banks during winter season.

General Characters
The leaves of the plants are cylindric, fistular and look like tubes. Flower of the plant is white or greenish white with a short pedicel. The plant flowers during January- February.

Common name    :    English- Rain Tree
        Hindi- Gulabi Siris 
        Odia- Chakunda
Family    :    Mimosaceae

Habit & Distribution
The plant is a tree common in dry, lowlands ,grasslands, coastal bush lands, forests and also planted in avenues. It is distributed throughout the tropical countries (Fig 9 a).

Common name    :    English- Wood apple
        Hindi- Bel
        Odia- Bela
Family    :    Rutaceae

Habit & Distribution 
It is a tree, (Fig 8 a) common in scrub and open forests, also planted near temples and villages. The plant is usually distributed throughout the greater part of India.

Common name    :    English- Pith plant
        Hindi- Sola
        Odia- Sola
Family    :    Fabaceae
 
Habit & Distribution
It is a herb (Fig.7a), commonly found in ponds, swampy areas, lakes and other water bodies. It is distributed throughout India.

General Characters
The plant is an erect, perennial herb. Its stem is about 2 cm in diameter. The leaves are sessile reaching up to 15 cm long, leaflets 25-50 pairs, alternate or opposite. The flowers are yellow in colour and about 8 cm long, broadly ovate and acute. The plant flowers between August and October.

Common name    :    English- Red Lucky Seed
        Hindi- Badi gumchi
         Odia- Manda kaincha

Family    :    Mimosaceae 

Habit & Distribution
The plant is a tree (Fig. 6a) often found in gardens and village sides and distributed in different states of India.

General Characters: 
It is a large tree with grey bark. The leaves are compound bipinnate, green when young, turning yellow when old and having 5-6 pairs of leaflets. The flowers are yellowish, small and grow in dense drooping and about 5-15 cm long. Fruits are curved, hanging, green pods that turn brown, coil up and split open as they ripen to reveal small bright red seeds. The plant flowers during March-May.

Common name    :    English- Prickly chaff flower
        Hindi- Chirchita 
        Odia- Apamaranga
Family    :    Amaranthaceae
 
Habit & Distribution
The plant is a herb (Fig 5 a), fairly common weed that grows on waste lands and distributed throughout India.

Common name    :    English- Red hot cat’s tail
        Odia- Bilei lanja
Family    :    Euphorbiaceae

Habit & Distribution
The plant usually seen along the road sides and often grown in gardens (fig 4 a).

General Characters
It is a bushy shrub grows up to 1.8 to 3.7 meters in height. The leaves are ever green, oval, 10-23 cm long and 7.5-10 cm in width with pointed ends. Flowers are borne in attractive shades, ranging in colour from deep purple to bright red and clustered in velvety catkins, which are about 30-50 cm long. The plant flowers throughout the year.

Common name    :    English- Indian mallow
        Hindi- Kanghi 
        Odia- Pedipedica

Family    :    Malvaceae

Habit & Distribution
It is a shrub (Fig.3 a) commonly found in waste places, along road sides, as weeds in garden and in forests. It is distributed throughout India.

Common name: English- Indian liquorice
                           Hindi- Ratti/Gunchi 
                           Odia- Kaincha
Family : Fabaceae

Habit & Distribution
It is a common weed (Fig. 2 a) found in forest and it is also seen growing on road sides, gardens, waste places and sometimes planted in gardens.

Common name:     English – Lady’s finger
    Hindi – Bhindi
    Odia- Bhendi      
Family:     Malvaceae

Habit & Distribution
The plant is a herb (Fig. 1 a), widely cultivated as vegetable in the tropical countries including India.

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