Kaviyil Gardens & Spices Nursery

24/11/2023

11/01/2023

Common Name: elephant tree
Duration: Perennial
Nativity: Native
Lifeform: Tree

General: Round topped, small tree or shrub to 10 m tall, the outer bark exfoliating in strips, thin but extensive, twigs maroon to reddish brown, with aromatic, transparent resin. Leaves: Alternate, pinnate 3-8 cm long or more, the rachis narrowly winged, 0.7-2 cm wide, on petiole 0.5-2 cm long, 7-35 leaflets, oblong to linear, margins entire, 3-10 mm long, 1-2.5 mm wide, the terminal leaflet orbicular, equal to or shorter than the laterals. Flowers: Appearing before leaves on peduncles 1-3 cm long, 1-4 flowered, slender pedicels 3-5 mm long, 5 sepals light green to reddish, ovate, about 1 mm long, glabrous, the petals 5, 3-4 mm long, white to cream or pale yellow, lanceolate. Fruits: Drupes 3-angled, glabrous with yellowish seeds. Ecology: Found on rocky slopes and in canyons from 500-3,500 ft (152-1067 m), flowers from June-July. Distribution: Ranges across southwestern Arizona into Sonora and into Baja California, and further south to Zacatecas.

Notes: Distinctive with its reddish bark that looks bulging with the bark peeling in thin strips, can be confused initially as some kind of Fabaceae, but the flowers make the distinction obvious.

Ethnobotany: Used for skin diseases, used to make coil baskets, and used ceremonially as a good luck charm. Etymology: Bursera is named for Joachim Burser (1583-1649) a German botanist, while microphylla means small leaved.

24/03/2022

History of the Lotus Flower

Back in Egyptians times, the lotus flower was very important in their religion. Meaning creation and rebirth, it was a symbol of the sun, because at nightfall it closes and goes beneath the water and at dawn it climbs up above the water and reopens. It was the only plant to flower and fruit at the same time, as it would emerge as pure white from the depths of the muddy swamp and grow above the water. One myth that revolves around the lotus is during creation time a giant lotus flower grew out of a pond and from it the sun rose. Also, throughout ancient Egypt the lotus has been pictured in various works of art. It would act as a border to outline a section of artwork, or held in the hands of a god or human. The lotus was also used in their math, helping to count to high decrees. One lotus would act as 1,000 and two lotus as 2,000 and so on.
About the Lotus Flower

Order: Nymphaeales
Family: Nymphaeaceae
Genus: Nelumbo

The lotus flower is an aquatic perennial. Sometimes mistaken for the water-lily, the lotus has a distinctively different structure. It also only comes in pink hues or white, whereas the lily comes in many different colors. The roots are implanted in the soil of a river or pond, and the leaves float on the surface. In some research reports, the lotus can control the temperature of itself just like humans and animals can.