Nature's wonders knows no bounds. Nature has all imaginable kinds of non-living and living things; be it air, land or water; be it day or night. Of the life forms I believe plant life is versatile than animal life. Plant life lasts longer, alive or dead. Here are some plant parts which continue to amaze the human senses after they cease to live. Unlike most plant parts which just drop down without fanfare these parts gracefully spin down and land gently. So far I've come across three types, there could be many more.. I've marked them as A, B and C.
B. This is twin-wing seed of a plant called Twanpani, its a Kannada name. I've seen this plant on the rocky hills of northern districts of Karnataka. The one seen here was picked up from Anegundi fort on Rushyamukha Betta. The plant is delicate, has silvery stems and branches, grows to an height of 15 to 18 feet. These seeds can be found in bunches of 5 to 10. Green in color when tender and darken as they age. This seed when thrown high in the air spins down rapidly, as though its in a hurry.
C. Commonly found in cities you might have seen this uni-wing seed; seed end is heavy while the wing-end is almost weightless. About 25 to 30 such winged seeds are tightly packed into a thick shelled pod. When dry enough the shell splits itself into three equal parts. The tree which produces this grows to heights of 30 to 40 feet; has a straight stem and branches high above the ground. Dark green leaves which shed during December and January. I cannot recall the flower's color though. As a kid I and my brother would bring these seeds home and play with them until our arms ached.
While researching name of the trees I stumbled on an interesting article on rotating seeds- Autorotating seeds: to fly or to die. Do read it. Then I stumbled on another interesting website- Landmark Trees of India, You must see the amazing trees we are unaware of. Namoh Nature.
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Nice to see a different detail between the wonderful forts and old places you continue to discover and share. It reminded me of the English explorers who began to document (draw, take samples and catalog) almost everything they saw in the world. In that light, it would be good to add a scale to your picture, who knows in time what more seeds you will tell us about!
ReplyDeletearchitect Nikhil, glad to see your message. Thank you for your suggestion, valuable indeed. I'll update the post with a new photo, will require few days' time.
ReplyDeleteNice post & on a different subject, many times you open our eyes/create an awareness to look for such unique things which, many times we go unnoticed.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Manjula
ReplyDeleteSiddu, As kids we called it helicopter seeds and enjoyed chasing them. Nicely written by you.
ReplyDeleteSubbu, recalling memories of our school days. The Jayanagar IV block police station road was lined with mahogany trees. The road would be littered with leaves, pods and winged-seeds. My brother and I would pick the largest ones and throw them up in the air, and watch them spin down gracefully. Nature provides us not only air to breathe, water to quench our thirst, food when hungry, it also charms us with its wonderful creations. And last of all, it never ceases to surprise us.
ReplyDeleteHey, found a B. (from the image above) in Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore. A friend was trying to locate the tree. I googled twanpani in order to find the English name of the tree but nothing came up. Can you help find the botanical name so that we can find the tree / local Tamil name? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteKannada name 'Twanpani' corresponds to the English name 'Gyrocarpus Jacquinii'.
DeleteI found the tree with seeds in Odisha two days before. It's available in Bhubaneswar Botanical garden. You can see the tree in Bhubaneswar Tribal museum premises.
ReplyDeleteWhich particular seed, could you share the plant's name?
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