Flowers

All of us like to look at those pretty flowers blooming all around, especially in winters. Remember that tree laden with yellow flowers, which hang like bunches of grapes? How often have you wondered: What's that flower? Nobody around you seems to know the answer. There was a time, when a lot of people knew about a lot of flowers. But for the city bred individual, flowers are only like pretty pictures. The pace of city life tends to alienate the individual from mother nature, which brought him into existence in the first place. Flowers of India is aimed at having information about all the flowers found in India, with their common names, especially in Indian languages, pictures and habitat, easily available in one place. This is meant to be a place you can look at if you saw a flower and wanted to know more about it. Knowing more about flowers, and then going out and having a look at them, will be more like communing with nature.

What do we mean by Indian Flowers?

One might wonder whether the term Indian in Indian Flowers stands for flowers originally from India or to any flower that is grown in India. Our definition of Flowers of India includes any flower that grows in India. However, we distinguish between the following three categories:

Native : Flowers found wild in India since recorded time, not known to be introduced by any human agency. These include plants like Devil's Claws (Martynia annua) whose seeds attach themselves to animal legs to transport themselves from one region to the other. This category also includes plants which have been only known to grow in cultivation, e.g. potato.

Naturalized : This category includes plants which were originally introduced from elsewhere, but are self-propagating and have become naturalized. These can also be seen
growing wild.

Introduced : This category includes plants which are known to be introduced into India by a human agency. The introduction may have been long back in time.
The three symbols mentioned above have been used in the slides of all the flowers on the site to indicate their category.

Flower Shapes

Campanulate :

(Bell-shaped) A flower with a wide tube and flared lobes (petal tips), typical of the Bellflower family (Campanulaceae). The length of the tube is variable, and the open-ness of the flower, but campanulate is generally shorter and fatter than tubular, and more closed than stellate.

The example is Campanula cochlearifolia.

Funnelform :

(Funnel-shaped) A flower that widens gradually from the base, ending in an open or flared shape.

The example is Cyrtanthus elatus.

Trumpet-shaped :

A flower that starts as a narrow tube, but widens into a flared mouth, where the petals often turn back.

The example is Petunia grandiflora.

Salverform :

A flower with a long, thin tube, that widens suddenly into a flat-faced flower.

The example is Plumbago auriculata.

Tubular :

A flower with a long, thin, straight-sided tube formed of united petals, often separating at the mouth into a flared shape.

The example is a Kniphofia hybrid.

Urceolate

(Urn-shaped) A flower in which the petals are fused into an almost enclosed globe shape, separating at the mouth into individual flared petals.

The example is Erica tetralix.

Bowl-shaped :

A flower with a deep dish shape, roughly hemispherical, with straight sides or with a very slight flare at the tips. Much the same as cup-shaped.

The example is Argemone mexicana.

Saucer-shaped

A flower that is almost flat, with slightly upturned petal tips.

The example is Geranium wallichianum.

Stellate :

(Star-shaped) A flower with many narrow petals arising separately from a central point.

The example is Sisyrinchium bermudianum album.

Cruciform :

(Cross-shaped) A flower with four petals at right angles to one another. Typical of members of the Cabbage Family (Brassicaceae).

The example is an unknown tropical species.

Labiate :




(Lipped) A flower divided into an upper 'hood' and a lower flat or pouched lip, typical of members of the Deadnettle/Mint Family (Lamiaceae).

The example is Salvia texensis.

Papilionaceous :




(Pea-shaped) The flower shape typical of members of the Papilionaceae, having a large upper petal called the standard, two large side petals called wings, and two lower petals, often fused together, called the keel, which encloses the stamens and stigma.

The example is Parochetus communis.

Ligulate :

(Strap-shaped) A flower with one large, long, thin petal, typical of ray-florets of the Aster/Daisy Family (Asteraceae). These look like single petals but are all individual flowers, each one capable of producing its own seed.

The example is Cosmos bipinnatus.

Understanding Botanical Names :

To a layperson, the botanical names sound very intimidating. It is not uncommon to wonder why have such complex names for plants, and why can't we just use common names. The answer is that, common names do not uniquely specify a plant. You can have more than one plant called trumpet vine or yellow bells. The botanical names, on the other hand, uniquely specify every plant.Another important fact is that a botanical name may tell you much more about a plant than a common name. There is a meaning associated with each part of the name. This will be clear in the following. The botanical names consist of two parts (or epithets), genus and the specific epithet (species for short):

Botanical name = Genus + species

Genus: A genus refers to a group of plants which share certain structural characteristics. The genus name may come from mythology, literature, people, places, or something the plant resembles.
Species: The species name usually refers to a place where the plant is native, the plant's appearance, or the name of the person credited with discovering it. Individual species are precisely identified by analyzing the flowers and seeds of each plant. The determining criteria might be the number of petals on the flower, or a certain characteristic of the seed.

Example : Calliandra haematocephala

Calliandra - Calli = beautiful Andra = Male flower parts or stamens. This means, plant with beautiful stamens.haematocephala - haema - blood red cephale head; front. This means, one with blood-red head or front.This example shows that just knowing the name gives one lots of information about the flower. This system was developed by Carl Linnaeus, an 18th century botanist. Today, this cataloging is done by the group of botanists who analyze the characters and attributes of plants, and put them into the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.

Roses :

Roses are a group of herbaceous shrubs found in temperate regions throughout both hemispheres The birthplace of the cultivated Rose was probably Northern Persia, on the Caspian, or Faristan on the Gulf of Persia. Rose is considered by many as the most beautiful of all flowers. There are varieties which have an extremely pleasant scent. There are other varieties which do not have much smell. It is available in every colour except blue and true black. In the 19th century old scented roses were used to make jelly. The red rose is the symbol of England and is worn on St George's Day. It is also the symbol of love and is hugely popular on St Valentine's Day, when roses make up the largest proportion of the money spent on flowers. Rose has always featured strongly throughout history.

LILY :

The lily's name has pre-classical origins. It was the Greek name leirion and the Roman name lilium from which the name "lily" was derived.

Legend tells that the lily sprang from Eve's tears, when upon being expelled from Eden she learned she was pregnant. Other folklore tells of lilies, unplanted by any human hand spontaneously appearing on the graves of people executed for crimes they did not commit.

On the whole, lilies imply purity of the heart. While lilies come in a variety of colors, most people readily associate lilies with white, meaning innocence and sweetness.