Paederia foetida

Family: Rubiaceae
Status : RET (Rare, Endangered and Threatened) in Odisha

The forest of musings

The Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) won the U.N.-India Biodiversity Governance award, instituted by the Government of India and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), for the best managed protected area of the country recently.

Padma Mahanti, IFS, who served as Deputy Director, PTR, was hugely responsible for initiating innovative concepts of eco-tourism and in following up effectively some of the programmes introduced at the PTR. Padma was member secretary of the Periyar Foundation. She won the Green Guard Anti-Poaching award in 2007.

Padma, who is now Regional Passport Officer in Odisha, recently released a book of poems titled Mist and Musings, which narrates in verse and interludes in prose the story of her life, experiences in Periyar.

In an e-mail interview Padma shares her memories of Periyar, her thoughts on wildlife management and more.

Excerpts from the interview.

What does Periyar mean to you?

Periyar was my first independent posting after my training at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). And it was love at first sight. The streams that came to life during monsoon fascinated me. I still dream of them. There’s a deep connect with Periyar.

Were you always a wildlife enthusiast or did Periyar transform you?

Wildlife interested me more than the other subjects of forest management. That’s why I went ahead to complete my post-graduate diploma in wildlife management in 2005. Periyar gave an opportunity to implement whatever I was trained for in the WII.

As a wildlife professional, and not as a poet, how do you evaluate your experience here?The job must have been challenging too?

Yes. You had to be on guard always. The problems were undefined. From human-wildlife conflict, safety of tourists, forest fire, poaching, sandal smuggling, pressure on forest land, to the issues of the forest dwellers dependent on the park management for their livelihood, each day was a challenge.

Looking back was it worth the effort?

We achieved a lot, but achievements are not always quantifiable. They are often special moments, endearing memories. And my tenure in Periyar was full of such instances. Yes, looking back it was satisfactory. Training local youth in tiger monitoring through the use of camera traps and GPS, reviving nature clubs, revisiting and modifying all eco-development committees with a plan for five years were some great initiatives.

The tourist is the subject of one of your poems. He can be a source of concern in a protected sanctuary. Were the tourists generally insensitive?

In the Periyar Tiger Reserve tourism was still low impact as it is carried out in about 2.5 sq. km area of the entire reserve. The rest is eco-tourism in its real sense. However, there used to be mindless jeep rides in parts of the tiger reserve by other agencies. I hope it has stopped now or at least regulated.

What steps would you suggest to balance this tourist-wildlife issue, especially in the wake of the new rules framed with regard to tiger sanctuaries?

In the present scenario tourism has to be used as a tool to unite voices for conservation. It should be low impact and responsible; nature friendly and totally guided. Vehicles should never be allowed inside protected areas except the buffer zone. Sensitisation classes should be arranged for tourists before they enter the tiger reserves. They should be made to realise that tourism inside the tiger reserves is a sensitive and responsible job.

The tribes were successfully integrated into the protection and conservation of the jungles. How do you view this move?

Periyar has six indigenous tribes, Mannans, Paliyans, Uralis, Malapandarams, Malayarians and Ulladans. Efforts like organising the Mannan and Paliyan fishermen into eco-development committees and regulation of fishing activities inside the park were taken up. They were trained in research, wildlife health monitoring; protection of park and in hospitality sector.

In Periyar all eco-tourism programmes are protection-oriented and each one was need based. My efforts were to explore linking of local economy like pepper cultivation in the tribal hamlets directly with the global market by weaning out middlemen. Periyar Foundation played a pivotal role in the experiment of pepper export by Vanchivayal tribal colony to Germany.

Poachers were also transformed ?

In 1998, a group of 22 cinnamon bark smugglers in Periyar, were transformed in mainstream society. In 2004, when I joined Periyar as the Additional Deputy Conservator of Forests efforts were on to transform a group of poachers from the neighbouring Theni District, in Tamil Nadu. I was lucky to be a part of this process from the very start. I took it forward by organising these people into an eco-development committee and making them a part of the Periyar Protection Force. This was India’s first trans-boundary initiative in eco-development.

How did Mist and Musings come about?

Writing was a way to escape from the depression I suffered following my father’s demise. It took me 18 months to bring out this book. I felt like I was reliving by life once again. The entire proceeds from the sale of this book will go to people protecting the jungles and to help conservation.

(The Hindu)

MIRACLES OF RAMAYANA FRUITS

Uma Nath

1)Soursop fruit ( Lakshman fruit)

    The flesh of the fruit consists of an edible, white pulp, some fiber, and a core of indigestible, black seeds. Sour soup an antioxidant fruit is rich in Vitamin C.

*The fleshy part of the fruit on application to any cut, accelerates the healing process.

*Sour soup is able to inhibit the risk of osteoporosis and helps in digestive process of our body.

*Sour soup is rich in dietary fibre.

             Soursop is the fruit of Annona muricata, a broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree. The exact origin is unknown; it is native to the tropical regions of the Americas and is widely propagated.

2) Bullocks heart ( Ram fruit)

 Ramphal or Annona reticulata also known as bullock’s heart is originated from West Indies, Central and South America. However, It is naturalized in Southeast Asia, India, Taiwan, West Africa and Australia.

          Health benefits of Ramphals is quite fascinating. They are high in vitamin C, a nutrient that boosts the immune system, keeps skin healthy and assists with repairing wounds and cuts.

It has potassium, which helps the body regulate its electrolyte balance, enhance muscle growth, and improves the body’s ability to process waste.The leaves act as an insecticide, styptic, anti-helminthic, Anti ulcer  and, when applied externally, as a suppurant (or, aids in the elimination of pus). The ripe and unripe fruits combat dysentery; the bark is a potent astringent and vermifuge. In Ayurveda and Unani, leaves are used as an aphrodisiac and emmenagogue(stimulates menstruation).

3) Seetha fruit ( Custard Apple)

Custard apple, also known as Seetaphal in India, is a subtropical fruit belonging to the Annonacea family. The fruit grows on a small deciduous tree and is known by different names worldwide. The fruit is around 8 centimeters in diameter and has a sweet and delicious taste. The shape of the fruit may be lopsided, irregular, spherical, heart shaped, or round. It has a creamy and granular textured flesh, surrounded by seeds. The skin of the fruit is thin and tough, mostly black and green in colour. The fruit is native to West Indies, Central America, Peru and Mexico.

·         Helps To Gain Weight

·         Replenish energy

·         Fights cancer

·         Brain tonic

·         Strong dental care

·         Fights anaemia

·         Lower the risk of arthritis

·         Seed is an excellent hair wash

TAXONOMY, ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION OF DIOSCOREA SPECIES: A WILD TUBER CROP

Sanjeet Kumar

sanjeet.biotech@gmail.com

Dioscorea species is commonly known as Yam worldwide. It has diverse vernacular names. In Odisha, it is known as Ban Aalu. Most of species are edible but with bitter taste. Some species are non-edible too. Rural and tribal communities consume the edible species after boiling or after through processing. Sometimes they leave the tubers in running water for removing bitterness taste. They cook the tubers with main meal. They have medicinal values. Most of the species are used to check birth control and to cure skin infections by the tribal people of Odisha. Several species of this genus serve as staple crops in many parts of the world (Mabberley, 1997; Martin, 1974). In general, all of the principal yam species are frost-intolerant and vigor is affected at temperatures below 20°C. A temperature range of 25-35°C is common in the majority of the yam producing districts and Coursey (1967) suggests that the rate of growth of Dioscorea increases with an increase in temperature. Coursey (1967) does note that extremely high temperatures coupled with dry conditions are deleterious to the vigor and growth of the plant. The majority of yams, both wild and cultivated, are found in regions of the yam zone that receive anywhere from 1-3 m of rainfall annually (Al-Shehbaz and Schubert 1989, Coursey, 1967). The plant is documented to occur at altitudes between 200-1300 m (Wilkin, 2001). The “civilization of the yam,” or “the yam zone” as it has also been referred to, includes regions of West Africa extending from central Ivory Coast in the west to the Cameroon mountains on the eastern edge of the range and from the forested areas in the north to the more humid savannahs comprising portions of the southern perimeter of the region (Ayensu and Coursey, 1972).

Taxonomy of Dioscorea species

The genus Dioscorea, published in 1753 by Linnaeus (Genera Plantarum), was named after the Greek physician “Pedinios Dioscorides”, who was a medical officer in the Roman army at the time of Nero and authored the most comprehensive tome on herbal medicine of the time, De Materia Medica Libri quinque (Coursey, 1967). Dioscorea is in the family Dioscoreaceae, which is assigned to the order Dioscoreales. Recent molecular evidence suggests that two other families should be included in the order; the Burmanniceae and the Nartheciaceae (Caddick et al. 2002), both of which are represented in North America. The Burmanniaceae genera found in North America are: Apertia, Burmannia and Thismia. Apertia is represented by one species, A. aphylla, Burmannia by three; B. biflora, B. capiata and B. flava, and Thismia by one, T. Americana (Lewis, 2003). Apertia aphylla and the three Burmannia spp. occur in Florida (Wunderlin and Hansen, 2003).

The Nartheciaceae is represented by three genera in North America (Nathecium, Aletris and Lophiola) (Utech, 2003), the latter two of which occur in Florida. There are five Aletris species in the state (A. aurea, A. bracteata, A. obovata, A. lutea and A. farninosa and one Lophiola (L. aurea) (Wunderlin and Hansen, 2003).

Following the circumscription of Caddick et al. (2002), the family Dioscoreaceae includes 4 genera; Dioscorea, Trichopus, Tacca and Stenomeris, although molecular phylogenetic studies by Merckx et al. (2006) place Tacca as a sister to the tribe Thismieae of the Burmanniaceae. In the New World, only Dioscorea and Tacca are found. Tacca is represented by one South American species, T. parkeri. Dioscorea is by far the largest genus in the family, with the number of species estimated to be from 350-400 (Caddick et al. 2002) to 850 (Al-Shehbaz and Schubert 1989).

An early treatment of Dioscorea divided the genus into 4 sub-genera, which were further divided into 60 sections (Knuth, 1924). Using this classification, D. bulbifera was placed in the sub-genus Helmia, in section Opsophyton subsection Euopsophyton. Burkhill (1960) introduced an alternate classification of the Old World yams, but he did not use sub-genera. He recognized 23 sections of Dioscorea, including a redefined Opsophyton in which he placed D. bulbifera. The other invasive yam in Florida, D. alata (winged yam), was placed in the section Enantiophyllum (Knuth, 1924; Burkhill, 1960).

Based on anatomical characters, Ayensu (1972) recognized 30 sections of Dioscorea, including section Opsophyton in which D. bulbifera was placed (under sub-section Euopsophyton). Wilkin et al. (2005) indicated that the genus required a complete taxonomic revision, which should be based on DNA. He tentatively separated species into 8 clades based on sequences of two plastid genes. Dioscorea bulbilfera was placed in the ‘compound leaf’ clade (even though air potato does not have compound leaves), which also included three species from Thailand, two fromMadagascar and one from Malawi.

Wilkin et al. (2005) placed D. alata in the Enantiophyllum, as had previous classifications. Within the continental United States, two native Dioscorea are found; D. floridana and D. villosa, along with four exotic species; D. alata, D. bulbifera, D. polystachya (formerly D. oppositifolia) and D. sansibarensis. The latter species, which was only known from Miami-Dade Co. and one location in Collier Co., may now have been eradicated (Pemberton, pers. comm.). A seventh species, D. quaternata, was reported in the past (Al-Shehbaz and Schubert 1989; USDA, NRCS 2002; Wunderlin and Hansen, 2003) but has recently been synonymized with D. villosa (Raz, 2002).