Strobilanthes callosa

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Scientific classification Edit this classification
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Binomial name
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Synonyms

Carvia callosa (Nees) Bremek

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Strobilanthes callosa [1] (Synonym: Carvia callosa (Nees) Bremek)[1] is a shrub found mainly in the low lying hills of the Western Ghats, all along the west coast of India.[2] Its standardized Hindi name is maruadona (मरुआदोना)[3] which it is called in the state of Madhya Pradesh where it is also found. In the state of Maharashtra, in the Marathi language,[4] and other local dialects and in the neighboring state of Karnataka,[5] the shrub is locally known as karvi (कारवी),[4][5][6][7][8][9] sometimes spelled in English as karvy.[10][11]

This shrub belongs to the genus Strobilanthes which was first scientifically described by Nees in the 19th century.[11] The genus has around 350 species,[12] of which at least 46 are found in India. Because most of these species show an unusual flowering behaviour, varying from annual to 16-year blooming cycles, there is often confusion on the national scale about which plant is flowering.[13]

Description

File:Strobilanthes callosa.jpg
Strobilanthes callosa Plant spotted in SGNP Mumbai
File:Flower of Strobilanthes callosa.jpg
Flower of Strobilanthes callosa spotted in SGNP Mumbai
File:Pollen grains of Strobilanthes callosa.jpg
Pollen grains of Strobilanthes callosa taken with the Foldscope


It is a large shrub, sometimes attaining 6–20 ft in height and 2Page Template:Fraction/styles.css has no content.1⁄2 inches in diameter[8] and flowers between July and September. This plant is recognized for the fact that it takes nearly a decade for the bloom cycle to occur.[2] Its leaves are home to several insects including caterpillars and snails[7] which feed on it. The shrub has an interesting life cycle; It comes alive and green every year with the advent of monsoon, but once the rainy season is over, all that is left is dry and dead-looking stems. This pattern repeats itself for seven years, but in the eighth year the plant bursts into mass flowering.[7][10][11]

Plants that bloom at long intervals like Strobilanthes callosa are known as plietesials, the term plietesial has been used in reference to perennial monocarpic plants “of the kind most often met with in the Strobilanthinae” (a subtribe of Acanthaceae containing Strobilanthes and allied genera) that usually grow gregariously, flower simultaneously following a long interval, set seed, and die. Other commonly used expressions or terms which apply to part or all of the plietesial life history include gregarious flowering, mast seeding, and supra-annual synchronized semelparity (semelparity = monocarpy).[14]

In 1953 Sharfuddin Khan describing the plant in the former Hyderabad State wrote:

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In 1956 during the Reorganisation of the Indian States based along linguist lines, the above-mentioned state of Hyderabad was split up between Andhra Pradesh, Bombay state (later divided into states of Maharashtra and Gujarat in 1960 with the original portions of Hyderabad becoming part of the state of Maharashtra) and Karnataka.

Eight year bloom cycle and mass flowering

The Strobilanthes callosa bush typically takes seven years to grow. It is only in its eighth year that it bursts into bloom. At that time the pink and white buds[10] bear bright purple[2] (purplish blue[11]) flowers in a mass flowering which covers multiple forest areas with a colorful lavender blush[7] of buds with a tinge of pink[11] with its profusion of violet blooms,[10] after this once in a lifetime mass flowering the bush finally dies out.[7][10] The flowers are rich in pollen and nectar and attract a wide range of species of butterflies, birds and insects including honey bees and carpenter bees that come to feed on their nectar.[7][10]

Typically the lifespan of a single Strobilanthes callosa bloom lasts between 15 and 20 days and its mass blooming usually extends from mid-August to September-end.[7]

After the mass flowering, the shrub is covered with fruits which are dry by the next year. With the coming of the monsoon and the first rains in the next year, the dried fruits absorb moisture and burst open with a pop, the hillsides where Strobilanthes callosa grows are filled with these loud popping sounds of dried seed pods bursting open somewhat explosively dehiscing their seeds for dispersal and soon new plants germinate taking root in the wet forest floor.[7][10]

Masting

Some species of Strobilanthes including this one are examples of a mass seeding phenomenon termed as masting[15] which can be defined as "synchronous production of seed at long intervals by a population of plants",[16] strict masting only occurs in species that are monocarpic (or semelparous) -- individuals of the species only reproduce once during their lifetime, then die.[17]

Distribution

Strobilanthes callosa which is mostly peculiar to the hills of the Western Ghats (Sahyadris)[7][10] in India can be seen growing wild around Mumbai, Tansa, Khandala, Bhimashankar, Malshej Ghat, Basgadh, Anjaneri, Dhodap, Salher-Mulher (Nashik region), Mulshi, Aurangabad (common on the Kannad and Ajanta ghats),[8] Konkan[8] etc. in the state of Maharashtra, parts of the state of Madhya Pradesh, parts of the state of Gujarat and in large areas of Belagavi and Uttara Kannada Ghats[8] in the state of Karnataka among other places all along the Western Ghat hills on the west coast of India.

[11]

Medicinal uses

While the leaves of Strobilanthes callosa are poisonous,[1][18] and unfit for human consumption, the plant is used as a traditional medicinal herb by the local adivasi tribals and villagers[1] for the treatment of inflammatory disorders.[4] Its leaves are crushed and the juice obtained is believed to be a sure cure for stomach ailments.[11]

The plant has been the subject of scientific research which confirms its use in folk medicine as a valid anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial herbal drug[6] with anti-rheumatic activity.[4]

Related species include Strobilanthes cusia BREMEK (大青葉, Da Ching Yeh, タイセイヨウ), used in Chinese[19] and Japanese herbal medicine,[20] and Strobilanthes forrestii Diels (Wei Niu Xi), used in Chinese herbal medicine.[21]

Other uses

Strobilanthes callosa has sturdy stems which along with its leaves is generally used by the local adivasi tribals and villagers as thatching material to build their huts.[7][10][11]

Immediately after its mass flowering the Karvi honey collected by wild bee honey hunters is a popular local delicacy, it is much thicker and darker than other varieties.[7][10][11]

Control methods

The following Western Ghats forestry report from the year 1908 of Ankola high forests in coastal Karnataka (then under Bombay Presidency), provides methods to clear and control this shrub, when required, from spreading uncontrollably into unwanted areas:

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Common in the hills near Mumbai

The Karvi bush as it is locally known grows in abundance in the western ghat hills near the metropolis of Mumbai including throughout the Sanjay Gandhi National Park as in other parts of its natural range. In Sanjay Gandhi National Park its latest bloomings took place in 2000,[11] then in 2008, and it is scheduled to bloom there again in 2016. Termed by nature enthusiasts[who?] as 'nature's miracle', its maximum bloom can be seen on some of the inner paths and trails that lie undisturbed in the park. It survives best on vast slopy expanses on the hillsides with Kanheri Caves area of the national park being one of the best places to observe large blooming expanses.[7][10]

In the state of Maharashtra in the neighborhood of Mumbai the mass flowering of Karvi has been observed to occur in the same year as Mumbai in Khandala and one year earlier in Bhimashankar and Malshej, beyond Kalyan.[11]

Local conservation NGOs like the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)[7] and World Wide Fund for Nature - India (WWF-India)[11] bring groups of city-dwelling people from Mumbai and elsewhere, sometimes in collaboration with other organizations, for regular nature walks in the nature trails of Sanjay Gandhi National Park[22] and organize special trips every eight years when the rare Karvi flowers are in full bloom.[10]

Near Mumbai, the Karvi is also found in Karnala, the Yeoor hills, Tungareshwar and some parts of Goregaon including Film City.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Script error: No such module "template wrapper".
  2. ^ a b c Flower that takes years to bloom; by Prachi Pinglay; At Mumbai; BBC News
  3. ^ K.P.Sagreiya and Balwant Singh:Botanical and Standardised Hindi Names of Important and Common Forest Plants of Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior Government Regional Press, 1958. Also see: Flora of Madhya Pradesh
  4. ^ a b c d Agarwal R., Rangari V. Anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic activities of lupeol and 19α-H lupeol isolated from Strobilanthus callosus and Strobilanthus ixiocephala roots. Ind. J. Pharm. 2003;35:384–387. Pdf: [1] Script error: No such module "webarchive".
  5. ^ a b THE KARNATAKA FOREST MANUAL; 1976; Government of Karnataka, India. Pdf: [2] Script error: No such module "webarchive".
  6. ^ a b Singh, B.; Sahu, P.M.; Sharma, M.K. (2002, May 1). Anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of triterpenoids from Strobilanthes callosus Nees. (Short Communication) The Free Library. (2002). Retrieved January 21, 2010
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n City gears for lavender Karvi’s once-in-eight-years bloom Script error: No such module "webarchive".; by Nitya Kaushik; At Mumbai; Aug 12, 2008; The Indian Express Newspaper
  8. ^ a b c d e Sharfuddin Khan, M. D. Forest flora of Hyderabad State. AP Forest Division, India; 1953. Available online at the Official website of the state of Andhra Pradesh Forest Department: [3] Script error: No such module "webarchive".. Accessed on 23 January 2010
  9. ^ WORKING PLAN REPORT UC-NRLF ANKOLA HIGH FOREST BLOCKS XXIV & XXV BY E. S. PEAESON, I. F. S., F. L. S., Deputy Conservator of Forests, WORKING PLANS, S. C. 1908- BOMBAY. PRINTED AT THE GOVERNMENT CENTRAL PRESS 1910. Available online at [4]. Accessed 25 January 2010
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Nature lovers on the Karvy trail; At Mumbai; TNN, 22 September 2008; The Times of India
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l The Karvy blooms; By Shantanu Chhaya; 24 July 2000; Bombay Edition: Bombay Times; Times of India Supplement. A copy of this original Newspaper article is posted online at "mumbai-central.com": [5] Script error: No such module "webarchive".
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Moylan, Elizabeth C.; Bennett, Jonathan R.; Carine, Mark A.; Olmstead, Richard G.; Scotland, Robert W. (2004). "Phylogenetic relationships among Strobilanthes s.l. (Acanthaceae): evidence from ITS nrDNA, trnL-F cpDNA, and morphology". American Journal of Botany. 91 (5): 724–735. doi:10.3732/ajb.91.5.724. PMID 21653427.
  13. ^ Kurinji crown - The Palni Hills are once again witnessing the mass flowering of neelakurinji.; TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS by IAN LOCKWOOD; Volume 23 - Issue 17 :: Aug. 26-Sep. 08, 2006; Frontline Magazine; INDIA'S NATIONAL MAGAZINE from the publishers of THE HINDU
  14. ^ Daniel, Thomas F. 2006. Synchronous Flowering and Monocarpy Suggest Plietesial Life History forNeotropical Stenostephanus chiapensis(Acanthaceae). PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. Fourth Series. Volume 57, No. 38, pp. 1011–1018, 1 fig. December 28, 2006
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kelly, D (1994). "The evolutionary ecology of mast seeding" (PDF). Trends Ecol. Evol. 9 (12): 465–470. Bibcode:1994TEcoE...9..465K. doi:10.1016/0169-5347(94)90310-7. PMID 21236924.
  16. ^ Janzen (1976) in Annul. Rev. Ecol. Syst., 7, 347-391
  17. ^ Strobilanthes callosus; Botany Photo of the Day Script error: No such module "webarchive".; Notes posted by Daniel Mosquin; January 13, 2009
  18. ^ Kirtikar K.R., Book: The Poisonous Plants of Bombay. Scientific Publishers (India), 2003, vi, 300 p, Template:ISBN. 'The Poisonous Plants of Bombay' was published during 1892–1904 in a series of papers I-XX in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Intro of the Book posted at https://www.vedamsbooks.com/no32050.htm
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Tanaka, T; Ikeda, T; Kaku, M; Zhu, XH; Okawa, M; Yokomizo, K; Uyeda, M; Nohara, T (October 2004). "A new lignan glycoside and phenylethanoid glycosides from Strobilanthes cusia BREMEK". Chem. Pharm. Bull. 52 (10): 1242–5. doi:10.1248/cpb.52.1242. PMID 15467245.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Nakanoshima Technos database".
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."A Systematic Study on Confused Species of Chinese Materia Medica". Archived from the original on March 14, 2013. Planta Med 2006;72:865-74. November 2006, Vol. 35 No. 11
  22. ^ Wet and Wild; by Nitya Kaushik; Jun 15, 2009; The Indian Express

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