eChapters

Common name    :    Shaving brush tree

Family    :    Malvaceae

Habit & Distribution 
The plant is a large tree (Fig. 76 a), usually seen in open forests often scattered through fields and over plains, besides on open rocky hillsides. It is distributed throughout Indian.

General characters
It is large deciduous tree, which grows up to 30-40 feet in height. The leaves at first are bright red turning fine green as they mature. Flowers are having silky rose-pink stamens topped with yellow pollen. The wood is interesting as well, showing strippings of greens, yellows, brown and white. The plant flowers during October-February.

Lucke (1862) first described that the bluish green discolouration of surgical dressing is associated with the presence of small vibrio like organisms. Gessard (1882) first isolated the bacteria as Pseudomonas.

Identification of the etiologic agent of glanders was performed in 1882 by isolating a bacterium from the infected liver and spleen of horse. Since its discovery, the pathogen has been classified as Loefflerella mallei, Pfeifferella mallei, Malleomyces mallei, Actinobacillus mallei, Corynebacterium mallei, Mycobacterium mallei, Pseudomonas mallei, and currently as Burkholdria mallei. The genus Burkholderia was created to accommodate former rRNA group II (Pseudomallei group) Pseudomonas bacteria. It was based on the 16S rRNA sequences, DNA-DNA homology values, cellular lipid and fatty acid composition.

1. Botanical Name : Pyrus pashia L.

2. Family : Rosaceae

3. Common Name : Himalayan pear, Indian wild pear, Wild pear

4. Name in Indian languages

Kainth, Chotia, Kaimh, Shegal (Himachali), Mehal, mol (Hindi), Mehal, mol (Kumaoni), Mayal, Passi (Nepali), Kainth, Shegal (Punjabi), Sohshur (Khasi), Soh ait-syiar (Pnar), Tangi (Kashmiri).

5. Description

Himalayan pear is a small, deciduous tree of rosaceae family. It is common in open field borders and forest margins from 1000-2400m. The tree reaches up to a height of 5-8 m. The stem is greyish brown and rough. The flowering takes place in the month of February-March and the fruits mature in month of October to November. Fruits are globose, brown ultimately becoming black and rough. The fruits are astringent in taste when immature. The ripe fruits are sour -sweet with some astringency. This is widely used as rootstock for pear.

1. Botanical Name : Pyrus serotina Rehd.

2. Family : Pomaceae

3. Common Name : Wild pear (large-fruited type)

4. Name in Indian languages

Bada kainth, Shiara, Zarenth (Himachali), Shiara, Garmehal (Kumaoni).

5. Description

The trees of Pyrus serotina is found throughout the mid-hill region of Himalaya. The population of this species is very less as compare to Pyrus pashia. The fruits of this species are larger and less gritty. It is cold-hardy, tolerate low temperatures when dormant. It also has lower chilling requirements than most other.

6. Origin and distribution

It is native of central and East Asia form . It found in North Western Himalayan region.

Family: Brassicaceae

Flowering: December-January

Fruiting: January-February

Botanical description: The plant is an edible root vegetable growing upto 20-40cm in height. leaves usually are medium green and lobed and have a rough texture, lower leaves are lyrate, upper ones is lobed. The flowers are cross-shaped with four petals, usually about an inch across and white, pink or purple in colour. The seed pods are sickle shaped, 2-12" long, first green, then turning brown when mature. They are full of little round seeds.

1. Botanical Name : Rhus semialata Murr

2. Family : Anacardiaceae

3. Common Name : Chinese Sumac, Chinese gall, Nutgall tree

4. Name in Indian languages

Tatri (Hindi), Heimaang (Manipuri), Bhaki amilo, Chuk Amilo, Dudhe Bhalaayo, Bhangil (Nepali), Sohmad/ Sohmluh (Khasi), Sohsama (Pnar).

5. Description

It is a deciduous shrub or small tree with an open, spreading crown. It usually grows up to 12 metres tall. The trunk can be 6-18cm in diameter. The plant has an extensive root system and spreads by means of suckers, often forming thickets. The tree has edible fruits. It has several having medicinal properties. It is good source of tannins and dye. Fruits are gathered from the wild and mainly used locally. Galls produced as a result of insect activity on the plant are widely used medicinally in East Asia.

        Odia- Jada/Gab

Common name    :    English- Castor bean
        Hindi- Arandi 
        Odia- Jada/Gab
        
Family    :    Euphorbiaceae
 
Habit & Distribution
The plant is a shrub or small tree (Fig. 77 a), often found in wastelands, fields, gardens and near villages. Also cultivated as a cash crop. It is widely distributed throughout the dry parts of India.
 
General Characters
The plant is a fast growing, sucking perennial tree that reaches the size up to 12 m. The leaves are 15-45 cm long, stalked, alternate and palmate with 5-12 deep lobes. The flowers are borne in terminal panicle like inflorescences of green or shades of red monoecious flowers without petals. The fruit is spiny, greenish capsule containing large and oval bean like seeds. The plant flowers and bears fruits during most parts of the year.

History of rickettsial infections went back to 16^th century and it has long been associated with famine and war. Epidemic typhus had major impact to decide over the outcome of several wars. The epidemic alone killed or caused great sufferings to over 1,00,000 people during World Wars. However, the causative agent was not determined until the early part of the 20^th century. Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) was the first detected rickettsial infection in 1896 in Idaho Valley, USA. It was originally known as ‘black measles’ due to its clinical appearance in the form of characteristic spotted rash throughout the body. Howard Taylor Ricketts, an American pathologist for the first time described the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and was able to isolate it in the laboratory animals during 1902-1909. He was a dedicated scientist and on several occasions injected himself with the pathogen for experiment. The causative pathogen of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Rickettsia rickettsii was named after him. Later, the family Rickettsiaceae as well as the order Rickettsiales was named after him. Ernest William Goodpasture, an American pathologist and physician, invented the methods of isolation and culturing the rickettsial pathogens in chicken embryos and fertilized chicken eggs.

Family: Convolvulaceae

Flowering: October-November

Fruiting: November-December

Botanical description: The plant is a large climber with silky branches. The leaves are broadly ovate, 5-8.7 cm in diameter with obtuse apex. Flowers are large, yellowish-white in colour, fragrant, 6 cm long, 5 cm across on 1-3 flowered with long tubes. Fruit is globose, 1.2 cm in diameter, enclosed by enlarged and woody calyx.

Common name    :    English- Rose
        Hindi-Gulab
        Odia- Golap

Family    :    Rosaceae
 
Habit & Distribution 
It is a shrub (Fig. 78 a), commonly planted in gardens and also cultivated.

General Characters
The plant is a woody, perennial shrub. The leaves are borne alternately on the stem. In most species, they are 5-15 cms long, elliptic-lanceolate, pinnate with 3-11 leaflets. Flowers are usually white or pink, though in a species yellow or red with 5 cm across. The aggregate fruit of the rose is a berry like structure called a rosehip. The plant flowers during February-March.

1. Botanical Name : Rourea minor (Gaertn.) Alston

2. Family : Connaraceae

3. Common Name : Cow Vine, Big-leaved Rourea

4. Name in Indian languages

Cheriyamarikunni, Kuriel (Malayalam), Puli pan (Kodwa), Hulimajge hannu (Kannada).

5. Description

It is a large woody climbing shrubs of family Connaraceae. Stem is black. Leaves are compound with 3-7 leaflets. Flowers in axillary panicled cymes.The fruits ripe in June –August. Whole fruit expect the rind and seed is consumed at ripe stage. It is rarely found. Rourea minor is a vigorous climbing shrub producing stems up to 25 metres long that climb into the surrounding vegetation.Although poisonous, the plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use in traditional medicine.

1. Botanical Name : Rubus ellipticus Smith

2. Family : Rosaceae

3. Common Name : Himalayan Yellow Raspberry

4. Name in Indian languages

Jotelupoka (Assameese), Ache, Akki, Anchhu, Hinure (Himachali), Hinsalu, Anchhu (Hindi), Gouriphal, Hisara (Kashmiri), Esar, Hishalu, Jogiya hisalu (Kumaoni), Ainselu (Nepali), Akhi (Punjabi).

5. Description

It is one of the tastiest wild fruits of Himalayan hills. This plant grows in abundance throughout the mid hill region of Himalaya. The fruits are relished by all and are also offered for sale at many places. Rubus ellipticus is an evergreen shrub producing a cluster of stout, heavily armed, upright, biennial stems from a woody rootstock. It usually grows 100 - 300 cm tall, occasionally up to 450 cm. The stems only produce leaves, and do not flower, in their first year of growth, forming flowering branches in their second year and then dying after fruiting. The plant can rapidly form tall, dense thickets. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. The fruit is sold in local markets in the Himalayan states.

1. Botanical Name : Rubus niveus Thunb.

2. Family : Rosaceae

3. Common Name : Mysore raspberry, Hill raspberry

4. Name in Indian languages

Huftoo, Kale hinure (Himachali), Kala hinsalu, Kali anchhi (Hindi), Kandiari, Kharmuch, Surgaqnch, Oche (Kashmiri), Kalawar, Kalahisalu (Kumaoni), Kaloaselu (Nepali), Gunacha, Kandiara (Punjabi), Gomulli, Mulli (Kannada), Dieng soh khawiong (Khasi), Heijampet (Manipuri), Gowriphal (Marathi).

5. Description

Mysore raspberry is a shrub growing to 1-2.5 m tall. The stems are whitish velvety at first, becoming smooth green to purple later. Leaves are compound with 5-11 leaflets. The leaflets are dark green above, densely pale grey to white velvety beneath. The flowers are five dark pink to red petals. The fruit is densely grey velvety, dark red at first, ripening to black. The fruits are commonly harvested from forest for local use as a food and is also used as a medicine. Mysore raspberry is grows wild throughout the temperate Himalayan region. This species is successfully introduced North America. It resembles the raspberry.

1. Botanical Name : Rubus paniculatus Smith

2. Family : Rosaceae

3. Common Name : Heart-Leaf Raspberry

4. Name in Indian languages: Kothalu, Kala hinsar (Hindi/Garhwali)

5. Description

Heart-leaf raspberry is a rambling climber, distinguished by its large ovate-heart-shaped, finely toothed leaves. It is a deciduous shrub, producing each year a cluster of scrambling, minutely-prickly, biennial stems up to 300 cm tall. The stems only produce leaves, and do not flower, in their first year of growth; forming flowering branches in their second year and then dying after fruiting. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, and sometimes also as a medicine.

6. Origin and distribution

It is native of Himalayas and found in the higher hills in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. It is also found in Nepal, Bhutan and China. The plants are at elevations from 1,500 - 2,900 metres msl. It is found in damp shady ravines to 1800 metres in Jaunsar and Tehri-Garhwal of Uttarakhand.

Common name    :    English- Fever root
        Hindi- Ruwel

Family    :    Acanthaceae
 
Habit & Distribution
It is a herb (fig. 79 a), often found in wastelands, cultivated land, waysides etc. sometimes in gardens also. The plant is widely naturalized in India.

General Characters
The plant is a tropical perennial herb, growing up to a height of 6.5 inches with hairy stem. The leaves are simple, opposite and elliptic-obovate with 4.10-1.8-4 cm in size. Flowers are blue or violet with 3-4 cm in long. The ripe fruits in a pod carry 7-8 seeds each in it. The plant flowers and bears fruits during June-February.

Family: Acanthaceae

Flowering: November-December

Fruiting: January-February

Botanical description: The plant is a diffused or erect herb with cylindrical stem and growing up to 10-20 cm in height. The leaves are oppositely arranged, nealy glabrous, oblong-lanceolate with sharp-tipped. Flowers are tiny, violet-blue in colour and are about 3-4 mm long, and occur in spikes at the end of branches, or in leaf axils. The capsule in 2 mm in size and compressed.

Common name    :    English- Sugarcane
        Hindi- Ganna
        Odia- Akho

Family    :    Poaceae

Habit & Distribution 
It is a tall herb (Fig. 80 a), widely cultivated in Odisha and also throughout the hotter parts of India.

General Characters
The plant is a giant grass. The stem is erect, jointed, 3-5 m tall, 2-3 cm thick with plenty of juice. Leaves are elongate, rigid, mostly 4-6 cm wide, with a very thick midrib. The flowers are white, appear in plume like panicles, 20-60 cm long. The plant flowers and bears fruits during November-January.

1. Botanical Name : Salacia chinensis L.

2. Family : Celastraceae

3. Common Name : Chinese salacia

4. Name in Indian languages

Chourondi (Malayalam), Saptachakra (Sanskrit), Chuntan, Karukkuvai (Tamil).

5. Description

It is a usually climbing plant, though is sometimes a scrambling shrub and occasionally becomes more tree-like. It can grow from 3 - 10 metres tall with a stem up to 16cm in diameter. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine.

6. Origin and distribution

It is originated in coastal India, China, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines. It is distributed in the Indian subcontinent, including the semi-evergreen forests of the Coastal Karnataka, Kerala and Tamilnadu.

1. Botanical Name : Salvadora oleoides Decne

2. Family : Salvadoraceae

3. Common Name: Pilu

4. Name in Indian languages

Pilava pilu, Mityar, Mitijal, Mithivan, Pilu, Chootapilu, Bahapilu, Diar, Jhal, Godpilu (Hindi), Khakan, Pilava, Pilu, Mityal (Gujarati), Kalawa, Kohu, Karkol (Tamil).

5. Description

Peelu (Salvadora oleoides) is an evergreen shrub or tree with a dense crown of numerous, drooping branches. It is small to medium sized evergreen tree with dense foliage. It can grow 6 - 9 metres tall. The main trunk is quite often twisted or bent. It can be up to 2 metres in diameter. The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of materials. Apart from edible fruits, other parts of the tree also have economic value. Leaves are very good feed for animals especially goats and camels while the twigs are used for cleaning the teeth. The other plant parts such as root bark and leaves etc have value in folk medicine. It is highly resistant against abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity.

We present in this paper the data about the popular uses of elder (Sambucus nigra) obtained in ethnobotanical studies carried out in the districts (“comarques”) of Pallars Jussà, Pallars Sobirà, Cerdanya, Conflent, Capcir, Ripollès and Alt Empordà (Pyrenees) and in the Montseny massif (Catalan Prelittoral Range), complemented with others from different Catalan regions (also investigated by our group), and compared with those from other Iberian and Mediterranean territories. This bush or small tree is one of the most reported and used plants (for medicinal and other purposes), not only in the regions studied, but in all Catalonia and in many other areas as well. It is one of the most versatile plants, since its uses embrace many different fields like medicinal, food, ornamental, craft industry and games among others. It is, in addition, aremarkable fact that almost every part of the plant (bark, root, leaves, flowers, fruits) has some uses.

The genus Sambucus L. is widely distributed in temperate and subtropical zones (Mabberley 1990). According to a few authors, it constitutes about 20-25 species (Mabberley 1990, Bolòs and Vigo 1995), whereas a more synthetic treatment (Bolli 1994) considers only nine species with 10 subspecies. The only three European species of this genus (Ferguson 1976) are S. ebulus L.

1. Botanical Name : Securina leucopyrus syn. Flueggea leucopyrus

2. Family : Euphorbiaceae.

3. Common Name : Bushweed, Indian snow berry, White honey shrub

4. Name in Indian languages

Katupila, Shinar (Hindi), Pandharphali (Marathi), Mulluppulatti (Tamil), Cerimklaav (Malayalam), Pulugudu (Telugu), Bilchuli (Kannada), Parpo (Konkani), Humri (Gujarati), Shwetakambuja(Sanskrit), More pan (Kodwa).

5. Description

Bush weed is an erect shrub of family Euphorbiaceae. The plant grows up to 4 m tall with branches cylindrical or obtusely angular. Leaf is elliptic, obovate, or round papery to thinly leathery. Flower cymes arise in leaf axils or at leafless nodes. Flowers are tiny and yellowish. Fruit is a nearly spherical berry, about 4 mm in diameter, whitish when ripe.

1. Botanical Name : Semecarpus anacadium L.f.

2. Family : Anacardiaceae

3. Common Name : Marking Nut

4. Name in Indian languages

Bhilawan (Hindi), Bhillava (Marathi), Kavaka (Tamil), Ceenkkuru (Malayalam), Bhallatamu (Telugu), Gerannina mara (Kannada), Bhallataka (Bengali), Bonebhalia (Oriya), Amberi (Konkani), Bhala (Assamese), Bhilamu (Gujarati), Bhallatakah (Sanskrit), Bhalaayo (Nepali).

5. Description

Marking nut tree is a small to medium-sized tree that can reach a height of 25 metres, but is usually smaller. Possibly best known for its use in making a permanent marking ink. This multi-purpose tree also provides food, medicines, oil etc. It has high priority and applicability in indigenous system of medicine. It is often cultivated as an ornamental plant in the tropic.

Family: Caesalpiniaceae

Flowering: September-November

Fruiting: November-December

Botanical description: The plant is a small erect hairlesss shrub, growing about 1 m tall. The leaves are compound, arranged spirally and usually have three pairs of symmetrically egg- shaped, leaflets up to 2 inches long. One to three yellow flowers appear on short axillary stems. The linear pods grow upto 8 inches long, curve downward and contain many shiny, and angular seeds.

Family: Solanaceae

Flowering: July-September

Fruiting: October-December

Botanical description: The plant is an erect, branched herbaceous weed that grows up to 60cm tall. The leaves are alternate, ovate or oblong, deep green in colour with an indented margin and acuminate at the tip. Flowers are small, white in colour with 5-1.5 mm across. The berries are globose in shape, green at early stage and turn to orange or black when ripened.

Family: Solanaceae

Flowering: November-December

Fruiting: January-March

Botanical description: The potato plant is a leafy, tufted herb with tuberous underground stems growing up to 2 ft tall and spreading out a little more. The leaves are compound, long and the leaflets are 7-15 in number, with about 3 inch in long. The tubers are not roots, but modified stems or rhizomes, and the “eyes” are really leaf buds.

Common name    :    English- Tropical soda apple
        Odia- Denga bheji/Bheji baigana

Family    :    Solanaceae

Habit & Distribution
It is a perennial shrub (Fig. 81 a), is commonly found in grassland, thickets and disturbed places such as roadsides and river banks.

General Characters
The plant is an erect perennial shrub, reaches up to 50-150 cm high with shortly pubescent stems and branches with recurved prickles up to 5 mm long. The leaves are broadly ovate up to 20 cm long and 15 cm wide, generally dark green in colour, and glossy above. The flowers are white, 1.5 cm across arranged in clusters. The fruit is a globose berry, mottled green when young and yellow at maturity, with 2-3 cm across. The plant flowers and bears fruits throughout the year.

Family: Chenopodiaceae

Flowering: November-December

Fruiting: January-March

Botanical description: The leaves of the plant are alternate, lower most and middle one is long petioled, ovate-oblong, obtuse or acute, entire or dentate and higher one is small. Flowers are dioecious. Male flowers in arranged in spicate clusters combined into a leafy terminal panicle and female flower in axillary clusters. Ovary enclosed by tepal like bracts that developed into a globose or pyramidal, 2-4 spined structure in fruiting.

Q1.    What is the etiology of Staphylococcus aureus mastitis?
    Ans.    Coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus.

Q.2.    It causes contagious or environmental mastitis?
    Ans.    Contagious mastitis

Q3.    What are the important animal risk factors of S. aureus mastitis?
    Ans.
    (i)    Presence of coalgulase –ve Staphylococci and Corynebacterium bovis in the mammary gland act as protective factor for S. aureus mastitis.
    (ii)    Abrasion of teat orifice epithelium is a major risk factor of S. aureus mastitis.
    (iii)    Cows with increased parity are more prone to clinical and subclinical S. aureus mastitis.
    (iv)    Presence of different periparturient diseases like parturient peresis, retained placenta, dystocia, ketosis and ulcers in different organs are also risk    factors for S. aureus mastitis.
    (v)    Animals having very low SCC in milk are more prone to S. aureus mastitis.

Sir Alexander Ogston, a physician from Scotland, first elucidated the role of Micrococcus in formation of pus. He proposed the name ‘Staphylococcus’ (In Greek ‘staphyle’ means bunch of grapes and ‘kokkos’ means berry). Anton J. Rosenbach isolated two different species of Staphylococcus and named them according to the pigmented appearance of colonies i.e. Staphylococcus aureus (in Latin ‘aurum’ means gold) and Staphylococcus albus (in Latin ‘albus’ means white). The studies of Bumm (1885) established the relationship of Staphylococcus with human infections. Nocard (1887) and Guillebeau (1890) isolated Staphylococcus from mastitis in sheep and cattle, respectively and established its pathogenic role in animals.

Fill in the blanks

    Q1.    …………… is a contagious pathogen in bovine mastitis
    Ans.    Streptococcus agalactiae

    Q.2.    Streptococcus agalactiae causes ……… (acute/chronic) mastitis if control procedure of mastitis is not used.
    Ans.    Chronic

Answer the following
    Q.1.    Mention the strategy to reduce the prevalence of Streptococcus agalactiae mastitis at herd level.
    Ans.    Good hygienic measures, proper disinfection and efficient treatment of clinical cases.

    Q.2.    What is the relation between SCC and Streptococcus agalactiae infection?
    Ans.    The possibility of Streptococcus agalactiae infection is high with high bulk milk somatic cell count.

    Q.3.    What are the common sources of Streptococcus agalactiae infection in a dairy herd?

Rivolta (1873) first described the chain forming cocci in pus collected from the equine infection. Rosenbach (1884) established the genus Streptococcus’ Nocard and Mollereau (1887) first observed the relationship between the bovine mastitis and Streptococcus agalactiae. Lancefield (1933) classified beta-haemolytic streptococci on the basis of group specific-carbohydrate antigens.

Properties of genus

1. Morphology: Streptococci are gram positive cocci, capsulated, non-sporing and non-motile. Each coccus cell is 1µm in diameter. They are arranged in a pair or chain of cells as the cell division occurs in one plane(Figure 1 & 22). The chain formation and the chain length are variable. Streptococcus equi ssp. equi is a constant chain producer. Young cultures are gram positive whereas bacteria present in the pus and older cultures in the laboratory are often stained as gram negative.

Streptomyces are soil-borne bacteria known for production of several antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, antitumoral, anti-hypertensives and immunosuppressives. Krainsky (1914) first described S. griseus and named the species Actinomyces griseus. Waksman and Henrici (1948) changed the name to Streptomyces griseus.

Dermatophilus congolensis was first described from clinical case of exudative dermatitis in cattle in Congo by Van Saceghem (1915). It is primarily known as an animal pathogen causing acute, sub acute or chronic skin disease. The first cases of human infection with D. congolensis were reported in 1961 in four people who developed skin infection after handling an infected deer in USA.

Family : Myrtaceae

Flowering: April-May

Fruiting: July-August

Botanical description: The plant is an evergreen tropical tree, 50 to 100 ft. tall, with oblong opposite leaves that are smooth, glossy and having a terpentine smell. It has fragrant white flowers in branched clusters at stem tips and purplish-black oval edible berries. The leaves are antibacterial, and are used for strengthning the teeth and gums. The fruit is ellipsoid or oblong, variable in size and shape, usually up to 2.5 cm long, black, shining and juicy when fully ripe. Seeds always one, with thick rounded fleshy cotyledons, closely appressed on their inner faces.

Common name    :    English- Marigold
        Hindi- Genda 
        Odia- Gendu

Family    :    Asteraceae

Habit & Distribution
It is a herb (Fig. 82 a) commonly cultivated in gardens. It is a very popular flowering plant commonly found in India and other countries.

General Characters
The plant is a very popular aromatic annual herb with 50-100 cm in height. The leaves are pinnately divided, in to oblong or lanceolate. Flowers are yellow, orange in colour, and large head with 3-5 inches across. The plant flowers mainly during cold season.

Family: Talinaceae

Flowering: September-October

Fruiting: November-December

Botanical description: The plan is an erect, stout, fleshy herb, growing up to 0.5-1 m in height. Leaves are elliptic to obovate, 5-15 cm long, 1.5-5 cm wide, tip pointed to tapering. The flowers are borne in 2-5-branched, raceme like clusters, 3-20 cm long with a stalk about 8-11 mm long. Petals are pink, obovate, up to 1 cm long. Capsules are pale yellow, ellipsoid, 6-7 mm long. Then plant flowers and bears fruits during September-December.

Common name    :    English- Tamarind
        Hindi- Imli 
        Odia- Tentuli

Family    :    Fabaceae

Habit & Distribution 
The plant is a large tree (Fig. 83 a), fairly common, planted or self sown. It is widely distributed throughout India, also cultivated and self-sown.

General Characters
It is a large tree which grows up to 30-50 m height with spreading crown up to 12 m in diameter. The leaves are up to 5 cm long and composed of numerous small leaflets. Leaflets are 10-20 pairs, small and close. The flowers are about 1 cm across, pale yellow with purple or red veins. Fruits are brown, short haired, sausage like, contain an acidic pulp that surrounds the seeds, extremely sour. The plant flowers during April-June and bears fruits during December-March.

1. Botanical Name : Tamilnadia uliginosa (Retz.) Tirveng. & Sastre

2. Family : Rubiaceae

3. Common Name : Divine Jasmine, Tamilnadia

4. Name in Indian languages

Kalaphendra (Marathi), Wagatta, Kalikarai (Tamil), Pindichakka (Malayalam), Kuka-elka (Telugu), Pidaar(Nepali).

5. Description

Divine jasmine is a very rigid, ramous, small tree, armed with numerous strong thorns. This found in bogs, swamps, banks of rivers and other moist places. It flowers in the beginning of the hot season. The flowers of this species, are known for beauty. It is good shrub for flower garden. It is an important medicinal plant because each and every part of it can be used for medicinal purposes. Sometimes leaves of the plant are used to make chutney.

6. Origin and distribution

It is native of India. It is distributed in India, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Thailand, Vietnam. In India, this species is found in moist deciduous forests.

Common name    :    English- Teak
        Hindi- Sagun
        Odia- Sagwan 

Family    :    Verbenaceae

Habit & Distribution 
The plant is a tree (Fig. 84 a), naturally confined to south-western part of Orissa, also widely planted all over the state. The plant commonly distributed in central India to Orissa, also widely planted.

General Characters
It is a large deciduous and very popular timber tree. Leaves of the tree are large, opposite with 30-60 cm long and 15-30 cm broad. The flowers appear in large numbers in lax clusters at the end of branches with white colour. The fruit is about 15 mm across, spongy and enclosed in persistent calyx. The plant flowers during July-August and bears fruit during December-April. 

5.1 Definitions

The erodibility of soil is its vulnerability or susceptibility to erosion, that is the reciprocal of its resistance to erosion. A soil with a high erodibility will suffer more erosion than a soil with low erodibility if both are exposed to the same rainfall. Whereas the erosivity of rainfall was shown in chapter 4 to be a fairly straightforward measure of the rain’s physical properties, the assessment of erodibility is more complicated because it depends upon many variables. There are alternative uses of the term erodibility. In the widest sense it can be used to include all the variables which effect erosion except the erosivity of rain, as in the first line of figure 2.2. It is also used in the narrower sense as a measure only of the effect of physical characteristics of the soil, as in the erodibility index K of the Universal Soil Loss Equation, where the effects of land management and crop management are assessed separately, as shown in the last line of figure 2.2.

5.2 Factors influencing erodibility

In this chapter we will look at the three broad groups of factors which affect erodibility. First, there are the physical features of the soil, including the chemical and physical composition. Second, there are the topographic features, such as the slope of the land. Third, there is the management of the land, i.e. how it is used.

6.1 Quantities and rates of runoff

Before a start can be made on the design of the channels and ditches and other works which can deal with surface runoff we need to know the probable quantity of water. If the object is to impound or store the runoff then it may be sufficient to know the total volume of water to be expected, but the usual conservation problem is conveying water from one place to another, and in that case the rate of runoff is more important, and particularly the maximum rate at which runoff is likely to occur. That is the flow which a channel must be designed to accommodate.

In a hypothetical catchment area* with an impervious surface and no losses the maximum rate of runoff would be directly proportional to the rate of rainfall. In natural catchments there are other factors: some of the rain is intercepted by vegetation, some infiltrates into the soil, some starts moving over the surface but is trapped in depressions, and some is lost by evaporation. Estimates of rates of surface runoff therefore depend on two processes: estimating the rate of rainfall, and estimating how much of the rainfall becomes runoff.

There are several empirical methods for doing both and for combining the two factors, but because they are empirical two points must be stressed. Firstly, as with all empirical solutions, data, tables, and formulae developed in one situation should not be applied in different conditions without careful checks on whether the method is valid in the new situation. Secondly, each of the three main methods which will be

Common name    :    English- Indian Tinospora
        Hindi- Gulbel
        Odia- Gulochi

Family    :    Menispermaceae
 
Habit & Distribution
It is a shrub/climber (Fig. 85 a), frequently found in forests and widely distributed throught tropical India.

General Characters
The plant is a climber, with stems about 5 cm diameters with light grey and papery bark. The leaves are about 7.5-14 cm long, broadly ovate or orbicular, deeply heart shaped at the base. Flowers are racemes which are 7-14 cm in long, greenish yellow in colour and arranged in 3+3 sepals in 2 layers, the outer one are small, the inner one are large. Fruits are red, globose to subglobose with 6-8 mm across. The plant flowers during August-December and bears fruits during March-May.

Family: Apiaceae

Flowering: November-January

Fruiting: February-April

Botanical description: The plant is an erect, freely branching annual herb with finely dissected, lacy, blue-green leaves. The leaves are about 1 ft long and divided pinnately three or four times into thread like segments each about 1 in long. The dill plant grows about 3-5 ft tall.

Family : Lythraceae

Flowering: August-September

Fruiting: November-December

Botanical description: The water chestnut is an annual aquatic herb with a rosette of floating leaves and submerged, anchored into the mud by very fine roots. It has two types of leaves, finely divided, feather-like submerged leaves borne along the length of the stem, and undivided floating leaves borne in a rosette at the water’s surface. The floating leaves have saw-tooth edges and are ovoid or triangular in shape, 2-3 cm long, on inflated leaf-stalks 5-9 cm long, which provide added buoyancy for the leafy portion. Flowers are white in colour, with Four petals and are borne for a long period. The fruit is a nut with barbed spines. Seeds can remain viable up to 12 years, although most germinate within the first two years.

Common name    :    English- False white teak
        Hindi- Pindar
        Odia- Jandakhai

Family    :    Euphorbiaceae
 
Habit & Distribution 
The plant is a tree (Fig. 86 a), commonly found along riverbanks, evergreen and semi-evergreen forests. It is distributed throughout India.

General Characters
It is a large deciduous tree, growing up to 10-20 m tall, with a smooth grey bark. The leaves are oppositely arranged ovate, 7-17 cm long and are heart- shaped at the base and have tapering tips. Leaf-stalks are 3-7 cm long. Flowers are small and greenish. Male flowers are borne in 7-19 cm long racemes and are carried on slender stalks. Female flowers are borne singly on long stalks. Fruit is round, with 2-4 compartments, 2-4 cm in diameter, smooth or hairy, exocarp thick and fleshy. The plant flowers and bears fruits during December-March.

Family: Aizoaceae

Flowering: July-September

Fruiting: October-December

Botanical description: The plant is a succulent herb with prostrate forked branches, growing up to 20-45 cm long. Stems are prostrate or rising, somewhat succulent, up to 50 cm long or more, smooth or sparsely velvety. Leaves are flat, elliptic to obovate, 1-2 cm long, 0.4-2 cm wide, margins entire, tip blunt with rounded base. Leaf stalks are 0.5-2.5 cm long, expanded into a sheath joined with leaf base to form a cup. Flowers are pinkish or white in colour, borne solitary, stalkless, largely hidden in leaf axils. Capsule with a lower scarious or membranous portion and an upper brown. Seeds are black in colour with muricate concentric lines.

Common name    :    English- Coat buttons
        Hindi- Khal-Muriya
        Odia- Bisalya karani

Family    :    Asteraceae
 
Habit & Distribution
The plant is a herb (Fig. 87 a), usually found in dry locations, especially sandy and rocky sites like roadsides, railways, dunes and waste places. It is widely distributed throughout India.
 
General Characters
The plant is a perennial herb that stands about 30-60 cm in height and has slightly hairy stem. The leaves are ovate or lanceolate with toothed edges. Flowers are small, creamy or white in colour having 5 petals that are notched in the outer edges. The centre of the flower is yellow. The plant flowers and bears fruits all the year round.

Family: Fabaceae

Flowering: September-October

Fruiting: November-January

Botanical description: Thye plant is a small diffused herb, with erect to creeping habit. Leaflets are 1-4 cm long, 8-35 mm broad, obovate to oblong-wedge-shaped, tip rounded to notched. The flowers of the plant yellow in colour, bloom in 8-20-flowered clusters, with a stalks 3 mm long and sepals nearly equal, shorter than or as long as the tube. The fruit is 1-2 cm long, 2-3 mm broad, linear, sharp tipped, curved and 4-8-seeded.

Family: Fabaceae

Flowering: December-January

Fruiting: February-March

Botanical description: The plant is an erect, annual and strongly smelling herb growing up to 10-50 cm in height. The Leaves are trifoliate with leaflets 1-3 cm long, 5-15 mm broad, obovate to inverted-lanceo shaped. Flowers are cream or yellowish-white, in colour, 1-2 together in leaf axils and 1.2-1.8 cm long. Pods are oblong, straight or falcate with age, 7.5-10 cm long with a long beak and 20 seeded.

Common name    :    English- Burr Bush
        Hindi- Chikti
        Odia- Badya chana pata/tatatatia

Family    :    Tiliaceae

Habit & Distribution
The plant is a herb (Fig. 88 a), fairly common weed, distributed throughout tropical and subtropical India.

General Characters
It is an erect woody herb, grows up to 30-90 cm. leaves are simple, alternate, broadly ovate to sub orbicular. Flowers are yellow, small and clustered on leaf axils. Fruit is a subglobose and about 3-4 mm in diameter, covered with 75-100 hooked spines of 1.0 to 1.5 mm long. The plant flowers and bears fruits during July-January.

Abstract

Ladakh, comprising of Leh and Kargil district is truly described as a high altitude cold-arid desert region of J&K state, India, where local people grow barley (Hordeum vulgare) and prepare various food products out of it. The roasted barley flour, locally known as tsampa is one of them, which goes as ingredients in a variety of local dishes and beverages. It is eaten either in raw or in cooked form and the traditional method of tsampa preparation is through the Ran-tak (traditional water mill), for which efforts have been made to describe it in detail. Like other parts of the world, this remote area in the trans-Himalaya has also witnessed exchange with the outside industrial world which has brought with it many changes (both desirable and undesirable) and the traditional foods were also not left behind. One major cause for decline in the traditional tsampa preparation has been the availability of cheap subsidized produce from the lowland India, on the other hand the increase in information exchange with the outside world has also helped local people to realize the need and importance to conserve their own locally grown crops and integrate into the mainstream fooding system. However, tsampa prepared using the traditional method is still being preferred by the local inhabitants