eChapters

A family of over 250 genera and 2,500 species, Acanthaceae are distributed mainly in tropics, but also in Mediterranean region, Australia and USA. Central America, Brazil, Africa and Indo-Malaysia are the 4 chief centres of
distribution. About 70 genera and over 340 species have been reported from India. Some of the largely represented genera along with the approximate number of their worldover reported species are Justicia (300), Strobilanthes
(250), Barleria (230), Thunbergia (200), Aphelandra (200), Decliptera (150), Blepharis (100), Staurogyne (80), Mendoncia (60), Crossandra (60) and Acanthus (50).
Selected Indian Genera
Acanthus, Adhatoda, Barleria, Eranthemum, Justicia, Peristrophe, Ruellia, Thunbergia.
Economic Importance
1. Ornamental plants include Aphelandra aurantiaca, Barleria cristata, B. gibsoni, Beloperone guttata (shrimp plant), Crossandra infundibuliformis, Eranthemum bicolor, E. nervosum, Fittonia gigantea, Jacobinia carnea, Justicia gendarussa, Ruellia brittoniana, Thunbergia coccinia, T. erecta, T. fragrans and T. grandiflora.

A family of about 236 genera and 7,200 species, Labiatae are cosmopolitan in their distribution and their chief centre is the Mediterranean region. About 65 genera and over 400 species have been reported from India, mainly distributed in North Western parts of India and southern parts of India. Some largely represented genera along with the approximate number of their worldover reported species and common names of some of them are Salvia (500-700, sage), Hyptis (400), Thymus (300-400, thyme), Teucrium (300, germander), Stachys (300), Scutellaria (200, skullcap), Coleus (200, Jacob’s coat), Ocimum (150, basil), Nepeta (150, catnip), Lavendula (28, lavender), Mentha (25, mint) and Rosmarinus (3, rosemary).
Salvia is a tender herbaceous annual or perennial plant and cultivated as bedding plant in many countries. Owing to its adaptability, self sowing ability and handsome appearance, it has been introduced and commanded all over the world. Salvia species have long history of utilization as medicinal herbs. The therapeutic value of this crop is widely recognized in traditional Chinese medicine for various ailments. Some species are strongly aromatic having
horticultural, commercial and medicinal values.

Bougainvillea plants are native of South America from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina (Chubut Province). A native to coastal Brazil, the bougainvillea was discovered in 1768 in Rio de Janeiro by French naturalist Dr. Philibert Commerçon (also sometimes spelled Commerson). The plant is named after his close friend and ship’s admiral Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, who commanded the ship La Boudeuse that sailed around the world between 1766-1769, and in which Commerçon was a passenger. Twenty years after Commerçon’s discovery, it was first published as ‘Buginvillea’ in Genera Plantarum by A.L. de Jusseau in 1789. The genus was subsequently spelt in several ways until it was finally corrected to ‘Bougainvillea’ in the Index Kewensis in the 1930s. Originally, B. spectabilis and B. glabra were hardly differentiated until the mid 1980s when botanists recognized them to be totally distinct species. Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd., a native of Brazil reported to be found wild in all provinces of that large country (Taillemite 1977, Forzza 2010). The oldest herbarium specimens of Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd. were collected during the brief stop of the Étoile in Rio de Janeiro. Two are kept in the General Herbarium of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris (P 00169376, images in Monnier et al. 1993 : 176 and Jolinon 2004 : 79; P 00307018), and two in the Jussieu Herbarium conserved in the same institution (PJuss.; IDC 6206, No. 

Bougainvilleas are widely grown in India for multipurpose uses.  There are numerous varieties and cultivars that are important from floriculture point of view. Bougainvillea profusely flowers almost all the year round except in rainy season and very severe winter. It has earned a pride place in the floriculture and landscaping due to its variegated foliage and colourful bracts. Bougainvillea belongs to the family Nyctaginacea and in the tribe Mirabileae. It is the only genus in the monotypic subtribe Bougainvilleineae (Gills 1976, Hammad 2009). The first generic name as Bouginvillea was published by A.L. de Jussieu (1789) in his work ‘Garden Plantarum’. The spelling of the generic name subsequently changed about half a dozen times. Finally as per International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, it was spelt as Bougainvillea as used by Spachs (1841) and published in the Index Kewensis (Suppl. 9 : 1931-1935; c.f. Sharma 1996). Heimerl (1900) recognized 10 species, three of which (B. spectabilis Wild., B. glabra Choisy and B. peruviana Humb. and Bonp.)

Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea or river by the action of winds, tides, waves or man. It is a form of marine debris or tide wrack.

In some waterfront areas, driftwood is a major nuisance. However, the driftwood provides shelter and food for birds, fish and other aquatic species as it floats in the ocean. Gribbles, shipworm sand bacteria decompose the wood and gradually turn it into nutrients that are reintroduced to the food web. Sometimes, the partially decomposed wood washes ashore, where it also shelters birds, plants, and other species. Driftwood can become the foundation for sand dunes.

Association of human beings with plants is much older than the dawn of civilization. Use of plants as source of food, cloth and shelter started first for fulfilling basic needs. Aesthetic use by way of growing flowers and ornamental plants came much later. Gradually, it was felt that ornamental plants need to be grown in a systematic manner and that yielded the concept of designing gardens. With the advancement of time, gardening styles metamorphosed in various ways influenced by climatic conditions, geographic locations, rulers and most predominantly by people. At present, plants and gardens are part and parcel of our daily life. The scope of developing gardens is simply enormous, be it home, office, institute, temple, factory, ‘samadhi sthal’ etc. Growing plants and developing gardens are now considered a necessity wherever scope exists.

6.1 Introduction

Garden design encompasses the aesthetic beauty, artistry, knowledge of plant growth and development with basic maintenance of plants and other elements as required. Principles are the basic rules of designing a landscape. The basic principles of garden design are very simple; however, each is often referred to by more than one name. Principles of landscape garden keeps the garden lively and beautiful. The principles of gardening should be kept in mind always while designing a garden.

6.2 Axis

It is an imaginary line in landscape designs around which the garden is created striking a balance. In a formal garden the central line is the axis.

Many types of containers are used for growing plants in nurseries. These are clay pots, plastic pots, fiber pots, wooden pots, etc. Generally, the type of container to be used for growing a plant depends upon the kind of plant, objective of growing, choice of grower, etc. With advancement of technology, the container-grown plants are widely adopted, practiced by the nurserymen. The advantages of container grown plants are they are not prone to damage during packaging and transport. These are widely used for many fruit and ornamental plants. The different types of container and their characteristic features are as follows.

• Clay pots: Well-baked earthenware pots are used for raising plants. These are available in different shapes and sizes. On the basis of shape and size; these are named by pela, parali, kundi, nand, khobada, etc. Porous nature of the clay pots permits aeration, and water movement. Pot made with clay soil and well-baked will last longer than those made with sand or loamy soils. Before using, these are dipped in water for some period to soak the water in the pot itself sufficiently. However, earthen pots are heavy in weight, possibilities of breakage during potting and repotting and hence are less durable.

22.1. Aim

To estimate the fruit firmness.

22.2. Apparatus/machineries/equipments required

• Magness Taylor Pressure Tester

• Penetrometer

22.3. Theory and principle

Fruit firmness is an important feature of maturity. During ripening, fruits may soften and become too soft at the overripe stage. The changes are detected by touching or by using devices like texture analyzers and pressure testers to measure texture of fruits and vegetable.

25.1. Aim

To estimate the ash content in fresh and processed products.

25.2. Theory and principle

Estimation of ash contents is important as it gives an idea about the presence of minerals in the food samples. Determination of ash is also required to evaluate fruit chutneys as the maximum limit for ash in this product shall not exceed 5% as per FPO specifications.

25.3. Apparatus/instruments/equipment

1. Crucibles

2. Muffle furnace

3. Sensitive balance

4. Heating plate

5. Desiccators

54.1. Aim

To determine crude fibre in given samples.

54.2. Theory

Fibres can be classified into four categories like crude fibre (cellulose); acid detergent fibre (cellulose + lignin); neutral detergent fibre (cellulose + lignin + hemicelluloses) and total dietary fibre (Cellulose + lignin + hemicelluloses + pectic substances). Crude fibre is the organic residue of a sample. A fat free sample is treated with boiling sulphuric acid and subsequently with sodium hydroxide. The residue after subtraction of ash is regarded as crude fibre.

54.3. Reagents/ Apparatus/Glassware

1. 0.255 N Sulphuric acid solution

2. 0.313 N Sodium hydroxide solution

3. 10% Potassium sulphate solution

4. Ethanol

The separation of essential oils responsible for odour/fine smell from different plantparts by gentle heating is known by centuries ago. A large number of such components being volatile are called as ‘Essential oils’. Presently, it also covers many of the less volatile constituents. The essential oils (extracts of the plant) with different types of flavours/odours are aromatic components, which can be separated by steam/hydro-distillation or extraction by solvents.
Essential oils largely contain terpenic compounds, made up of two or more isoprenyl units (C-5). Besides, a large number of other compounds which have nothing to do with isoprene units, have also been reported by various workers. Essential oils are of quite use in perfumes, flavour and aroma-therapy industries and their economic production is very much essential from farmers’ point of view. The optimum stage of harvest is very crucial for high quality and quantity of the essential oil from different parts of the plants (leaves, inflorescence, entire herb, roots, seeds, rhizomes etc.).
The quality of the essential oils largely depends on the kinds of the metals (copper, aluminium, mild steel, stainless steel) used in distillation unit, as some of the essential oils react with free acids present in the oil and thus imparting off-smell of aroma and colouration. Presently, distillation units made up of stainless steel are preferred which has no reaction to phenolic, acids, etc., and oils produced are very clean, less coloured and of high quality preferred by the cosmetic and perfumery industries engaged in formulation of various types of essence and scents.

Aromatic plants are one of the major natural resources of our country occurring in diverse eco-system. Lately, many people due to rare chances of side effects prefer herbal medicines/remedies and their safer products. Aromatic plants sector of our country is not well organized which needs to be given special attention in States as well as National level. At present in India, total trade of Ayurveda and other herbal
products is estimated to be around 5000 crores, which indicates that medicinal and aromatic plants have good potential. Presently, 90 percent of traded medicinal plants are generally collected from wild and rest from cultivation. These are either used fresh or in the form of crude drug, either dried whole plant or their part/parts such as root, stem, wood, bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds and their products. The major producers of medicinal products in the world are China, Brazil, Bulgaria, Poland and India.
Though India has rich medicinal and aromatic plant diversity, yet China is the largest exporter of medicinal plants earning huge amount (US $ 5 million) from herbal trade due to large scale cultivation, standardization of quality control, safe and regular suppliers to the international market. Despite being home for several Traditional System of Medicines and aroma industries, the export of herbal based products from India is below US $ 100 million. According to WHO estimates, the herbal and aroma market is growing at the rate of 7 percent annually. The major export market for India is USA, Japan, Germany, France, Australia etc.

As mentioned above Bougainvillea is one of the most widely grown important perennial ornamental shrubs with numerous attractive plant colour (leaf) and shape, and bract colours and shape. It is very popular for its multipurpose use. Inspite of beautiful bract colour it can not be enjoyed as cut flower as its shelf-life is very limited. Bracts start drooping within few minutes after cut from the main plant. Dehydration techniques have been developed at CSIR-N.B.R.I., Lucknow, by which flowers and foliage retain their fresh look for several months or even years after dehydration. Their original shapes, colour and size remain as they were before dehydration and, thus, making them highly suitable raw materials for interior decoration and may be enjoyed for a long time and can be used for any occasion. NBRI has standardized two methods viz. Press Drying and Embedding (drying through embedding in sand and silica gel and drying using hot air oven, microwave oven and solar cooker). Bougainvillea leaves and bracts can be dehydrated beautifully by both the methods and the dried products are utilized for preparation of different types of commercial decorative items. 

Definition: Bio-aesthetic planning is recognized as the aesthetic branch of horticulture which deals with planting of ornamental plants to create a picturesque effect.

The term bio-aesthetic planning was coined by Lancelot Hogben. Egyptians were the first to adopt this type of planning in their cities. In India, M.S. Randhava was the flag bearer of bio-aesthetic planning.

India is one of the twelve mega-biodiversity countries of the world with 46,000 plant species and 81,000 animal species described so far from 70% of the total geographical area surveyed so far. Bio-aesthetic planned city in South India is Bengaluru and in North India is Chandigarh (Punjab and Haryana).

Scope: Benefits like environmental, ecological and socio-economic realizes a greater scope of bio-aesthetic planning. Potential of plants in combating pollution has not been utilized effectively so far. In bio-aesthetics, efforts should be concentrated to maintain for the next millennium, natural landscapes which appear healthy, harmonious, diverse and unique. Thus, bio-aesthetic planning can play an important role in environmental amelioration of urban and industrial areas along with their beautification.

Concept: Man has aesthetic sense and makes efforts to create orderliness and beauty. Natural forms, colours and textures have inspired most of the human art. Fulfilling recreational needs through ornamental plants and wild animals brings the idea of bio-aesthetic planning.

Cacti are eulogized as ‘Plants of 21st century’. They have gained popularity due to many exciting shapes, blooms, ease of culture and long life without least care. Cacti are categorized as fleshy stem succulent with photo-synthetically active stem. Good for indoor decoration in pot, outdoor decoration, landscaping, public garden, rock garden, etc.
The family Cactaceae includes approximately 131 genera and 1,750 species. But different authors mention the number of genera differently between 30 to 200. Members are distributed chiefly in semi-desert or drier regions of tropical and sub-tropical America, and also in Africa, Mauritius, Seychelles, India, Sri Lanka and Australia. Mainly the Cactaceae are the succulents of New World. Main species of Old World is Rhipsalis. Some of the larger genera along with their number of reported species are Mammillaria (200-300), Opuntia (250), Echinocereus (75), Rhipsalis (60), Cereus (50), Cephalcereus (48), Echinopsis (35), Epiphyllum (21) and Pereskia (20).
The classification of the family Cactaceae remains uncertain as of August 2023. Since the mid-1990s, the system produced by the International Cactaceae Systematics Group (ICSG) of the International Organization for Succulent Plant Study has been used as the basis of many published classifications. Hunt (2006) recognized Cactaceae family has 4 sub-families viz. Pereskioideae (the leaf cactus, 20 spp.), Opuntioideae (300 spp.), Cactoideae (1,000 spp.) and Maihuenioideae (2 spp.). Three tribes: Pereskieae, Opuntieae, Cereae. Tribe Cereae has 8 sub-tribes: Cereanae, Hylocereanae, Echinocereanae, Echiocactanae, Cactanae, Coryphanthanae, Epiphyelanae, Rhipsolidanae. The cacti of sub-tribe ‘Echinocereanae’ are commonly known as ‘Hedgehogs’.

Like many other beautiful plants, Bougainvillea has been chosen as the symbol of a host of countries, regions and municipalities. It is the National Flower of the Caribbean Nation of Granada and the United States territory of Guam. It is also the official flower of several counties in Taiwan and Malaysia. In the United States, Bougainvillea is the floral symbol of three California cities (Camarillo, Laguna Niguel and San Clemente). Bougainvillea spectabilis: Paper Flower; Common name: Bougainvillea; Scientific name: Bougainvillea spp.; Hindi: Baganvilas (Booganbel); Manipuri : Cherei; Bengali : Baganbilash; Marathi: Bougainvillea (Booganvel); Konkani: Bouganvila; Telegu: Bogam Malle (Kagithala Puvvu); Malaysia: Bunga kertas, buganvil, buginvila;  Indonesia: kembang kertas; China: Ye Zi Hua; Spain: Bouganvilla, Aka Buganvilla; Mexico and Philippines: Bugambilia; Honduras: Napoleon; Colombia, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama: Veranera; Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Venezuela: Trinitaria; Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay: Santa Rita; Northern Peru: Papelillo.

Bougainvillea is relatively pest-free. Worms, aphids, and moths might be an issue. Sometimes it gets attacked by spiders which can be controlled by using miticide and by the fungus Phytophthora which is checked by spraying Blitox (copper oxychloride) (Sharma 1996, Banerji 2010). Although it is normally pest-free plants, but may suffer from worms, snails and aphids. The larvae of some Lepidoptera species also use them as food plants, for example the giant leopard moth (Hypercompe scribonia). Leaf spot disease caused by Cercosporidium bougainvillea has been reported in the U.S.A. (Sobers and Martinez 1966, Sobers and Seymour 1969). When compared to B. spectabilis, B. glabra has been reported to be resistant or only slightly susceptible to the leaf spot disease (Pal and Swarup 1974). Cercosporidium bougainvillea has been reported in Colombo by Pardo-Cardona (1998) and in Indonesia by Kobayashi and Oniki (1994). The disease can be controlled by spraying copper Carbendazim at the rate of 1 g/l at an interval of 10-15 days. Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum in bougainvillea has been reported in Italy (Polizzi et al., 2010). Bacterial leaf spot caused by Pseudomonas andropogonis has been reported in Brunei, Darussalam (Peregrine and Ahmad 1982, Sivapalan and Hamdan 1997) and U.S.A. (Walker 1991, Walker and Hodge 1991). This can be controlled by spraying copper oxychloride at the rate of 3 g/l at intervals of 10-15 days.

New varieties of bougainvillea have been developed in India at different research institutions, nurseries, botanical societies and also by individual efforts. Details have been mentioned above. New varieties developed at CSIR-NBRI need special mention. 

CSIR-NBRI has developed a number of new varieties by using various available breeding tools viz. through spontaneous mutation, classical breeding, chromosome manipulation and induced mutation (Banerji 2007, 2008, Banerji and Datta 1986, 1988, 1993, 1996, Banerji et al., 1987, Data and Banerji 1990, 1994a,b, Datta 1992b, 2004, Nath et al., 1983, Ohri 1995, Sharma 1996, Zadoo et al., 1975b, Jayanti et al., 2007, Roy et al., 2015).

Annual plants complete their life cycle within the space of one year are called annuals. They have multipurpose uses like as cut flowers, a wealth of bloom through out the summer and early autumn months; as component in herbaceous border, to make colour scheme, for window boxes and porches, as pot plants in green house or conservatory, for edging, for drying and herbal medicines.

Herbaceous perennial flowers complete their life cycle in more than a year and usually bloom during a specific time period every year during the growing season. These flowers are hardy and herbaceous. They are popular in their dried form for beautiful and exotic dried flower arrangements. Besides, perennials are used as ground covers, mixed with annuals, grown as potted plants and used as accents or specimen plants. Some important perennial flowers are Baby’s Breath, Bells of Ireland, Blue Globe Thistle, Carnation Flowers, Daisy Flowers, Flax, Hibiscus, Hollyhock, Iris, Ladys Mantle,Larkspur, Lavender, Lily Flower, Monkshood, Pearl Everlasting, Rose Flowers, Statice, Sunflower, Yarrow.

Shrubs are group of plants having woody stems and multi-branching from the base of the plant. These plants are useful to build up the framework of the planting scheme for screens, ground covers, flowers and hedges. They vary in blooming time, colour, size, growth habit, fragrance as well as situations.

Aquatic plants are essential to maintain water balance. They also keep out the dreaded algal bloom. Aquatic plants absorb the minerals and carbon dioxide in the water. Pond plants are classified into four groups: oxygenators, marginals, floaters and aquatic. Oxygenators such as buttercup and water violet supply lots of oxygen in the water. Marginals are ornamental pond plants and planted in pots or baskets in the edge of the ponds to provide space for fishes or frogs, e.g., Primula. Floaters like water hyacinth help in keeping algae at bay and also provide enough cover for tadpoles or small fish.

Bulbous plants are herbaceous perennial or biennial ornamental plants which produce fleshy storage organs including true bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes and tuberous roots. These underground organs have capacity to store moisture and nutrients are utilized by bulbous plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat in a dormant state.

Preserving flowers dates back to earliest recorded history. The first evidence of use of dry flowers was when the bones of a pre historic man discovered in the Middle East were found with a mantle of delicate wild flowers. The pollen grains that remain indicated specific flowers that were used. During ancient times people used to freshen or enliven their rooms with fresh sweet smelling flowers. In the sixteenth century, when the Elizabethan Age was coming to a close, it was considered fashionable to wear silk flowers as part of one’s attire. These days flowers are dried and are versatile in their use. They supply us with food, medicines, ornaments and adornment. Flowers became essential for a fashionable appearance. Each civilization developed its own interpretation of flowers. Pressed flower art became popular in Victorian times. The Japanese use pressed plants and colorful papers to create Oshibana Art.

3.1 Indian Floriculture Industry

Indian floriculture industry has been shifting from traditional flowers to cut flowers and dry flowers for export purposes. The liberalized economy has given an impetus to the Indian entrepreneurs for establishing export oriented floriculture units under controlled climatic conditions. About 60,000 ha area is under floriculture at present. During nineties, increasing demands for flowers in world market was coupled with production technology available abroad for high quality flowers. This encouraged some entrepreneurs to establish export-oriented units in Hyderabad, especially for the production of long stem rose by importing cultivars and adapting green house technology.

4.1 Dry Flower Garden

Contrary to popular assumptions, the area required for producing large quantity of dried flower material need not also be large. However, the garden should be planned so as to harvest dry flowers all year round by planting evergreens, deciduous plants, annuals and perennials. Rows of flowering plants should be planted in the dry flower garden. Herbs are easy to grow, and can be planted in pots and window boxes. They are useful in transforming simple cooking into gourmet dishes, while also lending their delicate scents to a room when dried and for use in wreaths, pot pourri and arrangements. Gardens for dry flower production should include a wide selection of weeds, grains, seed-heads and pods. Flowers such as hydrangeas, zinnias, roses, dahlias and sunflowers and a selection of line flowers such as golden rods, statice, gladiolus, larkspur and delphinium can also be grown as these will provide a greater variety of flowers needed in flower arrangements.

Microwave Oven Drying

Microwave drying is quick and relatively simple. It takes only a few minutes and provides dried flowers that look fresher and more colorful than obtained by other methods. Flowers with thick petals like magnolia are not suitable for drying in microwave. Since flowers vary in moisture content, texture and density, care should be taken to use the same sized flowers from one species at a time. It has been found that many flowers held almost true to life color and form using this process. Brightly colored flowers are best to dry. Flowers such as lilies, roses, violets, zinnias, and dahlias work well with this process.

The process for freeze dried flowers began in 1989. Freeze drying was first used by the Peruvian Incas of the Andes, who stored their food on the heights of the Andes. The ancient Incas were the first to learn the benefits of sublimation. They discovered that when they dried food at high elevations, the results were better. Even though the food would freeze, it would dry well if left exposed to the sun. The reduced pressure at high elevation, combined with the dry air and energy from the sun, had caused sublimation to occur.

Bleaching is essentially whitening or decolourizing. It is an important step in the processing of dry plants. It involves chemical processes that can change the ability of colour bodies to absorb light by changing their degree of saturation (Robson, 1967). This chemical action removes the discolouration occurring during the dehydration phase of preservation of plants. It allows the effective use of dyes for colouring. Bleaching agent is a material that lightens or whitens a substrate through chemical action. To reduce the processing costs, multistage bleaching is suggested. In this method, both oxidative and reductive bleaching chemicals are used.

One of the important aspects of dry flowers is the pleasure of gathering flowers and grasses to make wonderful dried arrangements. The only drawback is that the original colors fade and the floral arrangements can end up looking like a bunch of straw. To enhance the colors of dried flowers, dyeing is advocated. While coloring ferns or small leaves, it is better to work on an aluminum foil or waxed paper so it can collect extra paint, which can be used on another leaf. Leaves should be lightly brushed, and never saturated with paint. The painted specimens are placed on the waxed paper or on a computer paper to dry. Newsprint should not be used.

Skeleton Leaves

Skeleton leaves are semi-transparent leaves, also called fossil leaves. They are prepared by soaking the fresh leaves in bleached water and then by hand rubbing the soft green flesh from the network of veins. The leaves can be then dyed to variant colors to give them a beautiful and pleasing appearance. Although delicate by nature, they are actually sturdy and can easily be glued to a variety of surfaces. They come in several colors and sizes to meet a complete line of crafting needs. The delicate beauty of these leaves is sometimes meant to capture life, hope and memories. These delicate, gorgeous skeleton leaves are a perfect accent for all craft projects. They make a beautiful and elegant statement when they adorn your wedding invitations. They work surprisingly well on gift tags, greeting cards, scrapbooks, collages, papermaking, stenciling, and stamping. They are perfect for decorating bridal bouquet, wedding reception table, candles, and wedding favors.

Dried Leaves

Leaves are dried or preserved to capture the beauty of spring and hold it for a long time. Dried leaves are beautiful when used in any decoration. There are several preserving techniques that help to enhance the prized collection of leaves well. Drying leaves is an age old tradition. Leaves were dried to preserve them. The leaves were picked for their medicinal qualities, fragrance, or to be used as spices and for their decorative value. Leaves can be preserved by various ways: 

Dried Petals

Many types of dried petals are used for making pot pourii eg., land lotus petals, rose petals, mahogany petals, lily petals and lotus petals. Flowers are dried for everlasting beauty. They add an elegant touch to the room and are dried for everlasting beauty. Preserving blooms is a wonderful way to preserve memories and enjoy long lasting splashes of color. Many flower parts are used in dried form. A vibrant and thrilling range of dried petals are used to embellish greeting cards, folders, books, and other personal belongings.

Yam bean(Pachyrrhizus erosus), a leguminous crop, native of North America is cultivated for its edible tubers. Though six species of Pachyrrhizus are grown for tuberous roots, P. erosus, P. tuberosus and P. aphipa are important.

While P. erosus(L.) Urban(2n = 22) has pods of 7.5-13 cm long, P. tuberosus has longer pods of 13-30 cm. P. aphipa is a non climbing plant with fusiform tubers and this species is mainly cultivated in Bolivia.  Synonyms for P. erosus are P. angulatus, P. bulbosus and Dolichus erosus.  P. erosus is the species commercially cultivated in India.

Wild forms of yam bean are seen in Mexico and northern parts of Central America, where its cultivation is reported during pre-Coloumbus period.  Yam bean is believed to have spread from Mexico to Philippines, Amboina before 17th century.  Now, yam bean is cultivated in China, Thailand, Singapore, India and Hawaii.

In India, it is grown in Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa.  In Hindi, it is called as “Miskri kand” and in Bihar as “Kesaru”.

Mango is the choicest fruit of tropical world. Originated in Indo-Malayan region (Mukherjee, 1985), more than one thousand varieties are under commercial cultivation in India (Mukherjee 1949). South Indian varieties of mango are distinct (Yadav and Singh, 1985).  Naik and Gangolly (1950)  described 135 South Indian varieties, taking fruit character as the main criteria. North Kerala experiencing humid tropical climate is an important zone of variability of mango (Kannan, 1982). Polyembryonic mango cultivars like ‘Vellaikolamban’, ‘Kurukkan’ and ‘Bappakkai’ are traditionally grown here. Over the years, there is erosion in  gene pool of rich varietal wealth due to deforestation, urbanisation and large scale rubber cultivation in Kerala. Establishment of field gene bank is an important ex situ conservation strategy. Systematic attempts to conserve  genepool  resulted  in collection of  more than 1266 varieties in various field gene banks in our country (Chadha, 1976). Field Gene Bank (FGB) has the advantage of being continuously evaluated and desired accessions can immediately be utilized directly or in breeding programmes. Field gene bank very often represents only a fraction of variability of the gene pool and  enrichment of the collection is always required for capturing  available diversity.

Common names:  Sessile joyweed, Joyweed, Dwarf copperleaf (English), Geluti (Hindi), Ponnanganni green (Tamil) Latin names: Alternanthera sessilis (L) Syn: Alternanthera nodiflora R. Br., Gomphrena sessilis (L), llecebrum sessile (L) Linnaeus belongs to family Amaramlnaceaes.

Habit and Habitat
 
Perennial herbs, pantropical, damp shady areas, swamps, pond margins, shallow ditches, road sides, low-lying waste lands, damp pastures, cultivated areas. In New Guinea, «a plant of damp places; ditches, wet headlands, roadsides; sometimes a weed of plantations, particularly at altitudes of 1500 m or higher. From near sea level to over 2000m» (Henty & Pritchard, 1975). In Tonga, «occasional as a waste area weed» (Yuncker, 1959).

Plant family    :    Apiaceae
Synonyms      
English    :     Puerto Rican  Coriander, Black Benny, Saw leaf herb, Mexican coriander, Saw tooth coriander, Spiny coriander, Fitweed
Hindi    :    Bhandhania,Bhandhanya
Sanskrit    :    Phiranga
Kannada    :    Paramgi

Origin and Distribution

The plant is native to the Caribbean islands occuring from S.Mexico to Panama, Columbia, Bolivia, Brazil and Cuba to Trinidad. It was introduced to many tropical and subtriopical countries  where it is used as a substitute for coriander.

Hog-plum also known as wild mango (Spondias pinnata), is native to tropical Asia. A small, aromatic deciduous tree, up to 27m height and 2.5m in girth, with a clear bole of 16m, is found wild or cultivated almost throughout India, ascending up to an altitude of 1500m in the Himalayas; also found in the Andamans. Bark thick, aromatic, smooth, grey; leaves imparipinnate, 20-60cm long, leaflets 5-11, 22-28cm long, ovate-oblong, elliptic or elliptic-oblong, more or less oblique with mango-like smell; flowers whitish or greenish white, polygamous, in large, terminal panicles; fruits in terminal clusters of 10-15, drupes yellow-green or rich olive-green, mottled with yellow and black, smooth, ovoid, 4-7cm long; seeds 1-3, one being perfect, oblong-elliptic. Fruit is extremely sour, even when completely ripe.

Clove bean is christened so because of the resemblance of its thickened pedicel to the cloves of spice grown in isolated pockets of Kerala. This crop is neglected so long and remained unexploited though it has good potential for development. The tender and swollen pedicel of the fruit is used as a delicious vegetable vernacularly known as michi in Hindi and Bengali, garyo in Gujarati, kattuthali in Tamil, gariya in Marathi and nithya vazhuthana in Malayalam.

This vegetable grows from sea level as in Western Coasts of Kerala to an altitude of 1700 m amol in the Himalayas (Kirthikar and Basu 1935). The crop grows in the Gangetic plains and in Deccan hills. It is distributed in warmer parts of South and South East Asia including Upper Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, China and Japan. (Raizada and Saxena 1978).

In spite of late introduction, different forms of chilli (Capsicum spp.) did spread throughout the length and breadth of India. Diverse soil and climatic conditions prevailing in different parts of Kerala have contributed to the development of different ecotypes in chilli. Warm humid climate in the coastal belts, dry and arid climate in the central eastern parts and mild subtropical to temperate climate in the high ranges provide ideal condition for development, maintenance and spread of different ecotypes in the crop. Plethora of chilli varieties capturing the markets of Kerala comprise of different species.

Capsicum chinense commonly known as Ney Mulaku, Karanampotti Mulaku is gaining popularity in the state due to increasing demand from Maldives during Ramzan period. Hence the crop is also known in yet another name Mali Mulaku. This species is characterized by perennial and spreading nature with medium sized oblong to round, fleshy and highly pungent fruits. It  yields substantially higher under shaded condition and there is less incidence of diseases like bacterial wilt and collar rot. Hence the species is ideal for homestead cultivation. Due to its tolerance to shade, the species can be successfully grown as an inter crop in coconut, rubber, pepper and banana plantations.

1. Introduction

Gloriosa superba L. (Liliaceae) is a striking tuberous climbing plant with brilliant wavy-edged yellow and red petaled flowers. Glory lilies are grown commercially for a chemical compound, colchicine. The annual foreign exchange through the export of glory lily seeds is estimated to be Rs.100 crores (Alice and Sundravadana, 2012). It is used as anthemirtic, alexiteric and useful in ulcers, piles, abdominal pains and itching. It has abortifacient, anti-pyretic, anti-inflammatory and anti-leprotic properties (Gupta et al., 2005). Leaf blight disease was first noticed in  G.. Superba in West Bengal, India in 2004. The leaf blight disease was observed during June to September. Early symptoms appeared as small, circular to oval, light brownish spots, 2-6 per leaf, scattered at the tip, margin and midrib of the leaves. Subsequently the spots enlarged and usually developed into concentric rings. At an advanced stage, the spots became dark brown to blackish in colour, gradually coalesced and became irregular in shape, then the affected leaf blighted completely. The causal organism was found to be a fungus namely Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler. The pathogen is greatly influenced by weather with the highest disease incidence reported in wet seasons and in areas with relatively high rainfall (Meena et al., 2010). The growth of A. alternata was maximum in pH range of 6-6.5 and temperature range of 25-30°C (Hubballi et al., 2010).

1. Introduction
 
Keratinophilic fungi are the natural colonizers of keratinic substances like hair, nail, fur, feathers, hooves, claws, beaks, scales etc. Cattle sheds, garbage, animal burrows, sewage, birds nest, feather and hair dumping sites, poultry farms, public places like parks, schools, market place etc., are the common habitats of these fungi (Ali-Shtayeh and Rana, 2000). They utilize keratin as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen and produce an extracellular enzyme keratinase.

Keratinophilic fungi have been receiving considerable attention in recent days as these include dermatophytes which are potential pathogens causing various diseases in skin and scalp (Weitzman and Summerbell, 1995). Human exposure to these fungi is a matter of health risk. Several non-pathogenic fungi are now being reported as opportunistic pathogen and their occurrence in various environments, where they are naturally occurring is not directly investigated. Although several antifungal drugs are available in the market, its use is being limited due to a number of reasons such as low potency, poor solubility, development of resistant strains and drug toxicity. Hence there is an essential need to evaluate plant extracts scientifically for their medicinal properties to discover more safer and effective antifungal agents.

Year         Milestones

1951       :    First amino acid was sequenced by F. Sanger and H. Tuppy.

1953    :    J.D. Watson and F.H.C. Crick proposed that DNA is a double helix.

1958    :    Discovery of DNA polymerase by Kornberg’s group and DNA replication studies began.

1959    :    Isolation of RNA polymerase.

1970    :    Discovery of reverse transcriptase showed that RNA can act as the template for the transcription of DNA and opened the way for cloning using cDNA libraries.

1970    :    General method was developed by M. Mandel and A. Higa for introducing DNA into cells by calcium dependent method.

1970    :    G.H. Khorana synthesized an artificial gene from DNA nucleotides.

1971    :    Restriction endonucleases for mapping DNA was first used by K. Danna and D. Nathans.

1972    :    The recombinant DNA Era begins. J. Mertz and R.W. Davis used T4 ligase to join DNA molecules.