Wild Flowers of Karnataka

Dr. Magadi R. Gurudeva did his M. Sc., in Botany (1977) from Bangalore University, Bengaluru. He obtained Ph. D. (1990) degree from the same University. He joined Visveswarapura College of Science, Bengaluru, as lecturer in Botany and retired as Principal of Visveswarapura PU College of Science, Bengaluru. He has over 30 years of teaching experience in Botany. His area of interest and specialization are Reproductive Biology of Flowering Plants, Plant Taxonomy, Medicinal Plants, and Pharmacognosy. He has published 13 books, 40 research papers in National and International Journals and more than 40 popular articles in leading Kannada Newspaper and Magazines.

The prominent and most significant feature of the flowering plant is the flower. Flowers sometimes known as blossoms, are the reproductive structures found in the flowering plants. The biological function of a flower is to affect reproduction, which results in the formation of fruits and seeds. Flowers / flowering plants are very indispensable for the survival of humanity, they furnish basic needs like food, clothing and Shelter. Without the flowers there will not be fruits, grains and seeds; no food for man and animals. A world without flowers cannot be imagined in the present or future situations.

Some flowering plants grow under the supervision of a human beings, while others are growing on their own naturally in the wild. Flowering plants grow in all kinds of habitats, the only thing is, one must cognize how to look for them. While walking in the countryside or climbing a hill or roaming 1n a grassland or within a pond you may come across many wild flowers in the crevices of rock or half hidden amidst the ferns or some of them on the top of the trees. Even in crowded cities wildflowers spring up in neglected corners of the parks, barren fields, ditches and roadsides. Sometimes few may pop up in the carefully cultivated flower pots. Stop and look at the wild flowers carefully and you will discover that they have charming beauty of their own. In the present context the terms like native species (naturally occurring in the region), introduced species (not naturally occurring in the area) and naturalized (introduced to an area but now regarded as native plants) are included under wild flowering plants.

Flowers denote purity, strength and selflessness. The mere sight of beautiful fresh flowers has a calming and positive effect on mind and body. This positive effect made them to hold a special place in the history of humanity. In every phase of life’s celebrations, festivals and worship, flowers hold a special place, apart from their amazing beauty, colour combination, fragrance and texture. People offer flowers to deities to delight them and with the hope they will bestow prosperity. Flowers have inspired many architectural concepts, ornamentals, fabric designs, motif and utilized as templates in religious and yogic practices.

In Indian mythology, Lotus is associated with Goddess Lakshmi, Saraswathi and Lord Brahma. Stories and songs about Lord Krishna also linked with Jasmine flowers and Tulasi leaves. An interesting event on Sougandhika Pushpa has been mentioned in Mahabharatha. For a Buddhist, Lotus symbolizes divinity, fertility, wealth, knowledge and enlightenment. In many Indian festivals, flowers play an important role. Flowers too speak, the language of flowers is often called florigraphy. It is acryptological communication through the use or arrangement of blooms. The significance assigned to specific flower varied in different culture. For instance, the Mimosa or the sensitive plant represents chastity, because the leaves are closed when touched. The red rose and its thorn has been used to symbolize the blood of Christ and also the intensity of romantic love. Calotropis flower with bluish tinge matched with the bluish hue of Shiva throat. Hence, this flower is generally used to offer Lord Shiva. The Lotus symbolizes spirituality, fruitfulness, wealth, knowledge and illumination.

Flowers have been used medicinally from time immemorial. In the Floral therapy, petals and other parts of a plant used to improve physical and mental health. A few of them are highlighted here. Pandanus perfume eases headache and gout pain. The lotus flower has several curative properties in traditional medicine. The lotus tea brewed using the flower is used to relieve cardiac ailments. It also has detoxifying properties and helps stop blood flow in injuries.

Different Countries have different flowers as their National Flower. The National flower of a country should tie in with the culture, history and heritage of a land. It is meant to reinforce the country’s image to the world and play a part in upholding the qualities that the nation holds true. The lotus is the national flower of India. The lotus is also the state flower of Karnataka and Haryana. It is an aquatic herb that is often termed as ‘Padma’ in Sanskrit and enjoys a sacred status among the Indian culture. The most significant thing about Lotus is that even after growing in murky water, it is untouched by its impurity. On the other hand the Lotus symbolizes purity of heart and mind.

Karnataka is the home of an amazing array of plant species. As the estimation indicates that there are about 4,500 flowering plants in Karnataka. The flower spectrum is equally broad as it is fantastic. Selecting few plants from such a large number becomes a difficult task. However, some flowers that are common to most part of the state, and it is these familiar flowering plants have been covered in the book, apart from few uncommon flowers.

This book provides identification of 509 species of flowering plants belonging to 345 genera and 105 families. The book has been prepared to help amateurs to identify some of the common wildflowers of Karnataka. A major part of the book is devoted to the identification of flower / flowering plants with the help of photographs. The gallery helps in identifying the flower that you have procured. All the flowers / flowering plants have been categorized based on their habits and habitat into Herbs, Shrubs, Trees, Twiners and climbers, Marshy and Aquatic Plants, Parasites, Saprophytes and Insectivorous plants and Epiphytes. Under each category, plants have been arranged alphabetically. After identifying the flowers in the gallery, corresponding page number on the photograph can be referred for details. Every flowering plant is provided with currently accepted botanical name as per The Plant List (/t is a working list of all known plant species. It is the combined effort of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden, enabled the creation of The Plant List by combining multiple checklist data sets held by these institutions and other collaborators. The Plant List provides the accepted Latin name for most species, with links to all Synonyms by which that species has been known) in bold letters, followed by the name of the person who first identified, named and classified the plant. Unresolved names are those to which it is not yet possible to assign a status of either Accepted or Synonyms. Synonyms of the plant are printed in Italics. The family name is in capital letters, refers to the accepted name of the family as per The Plant List. The family name in the parenthesis represents the family name in which the plant was included earlier. A brief etymology of botanical names is provided. Followed by common names, brief description of the plant, flowering season, habitat, distribution in India and Global level, medicinal uses and lastly the locality where the author photographed the plant. All the description given based on the actual observations in the field. The specimens collected in the field were identified referring districts and state floras of Karnataka including websites related to Indian plants. At the end of the book, a glossary of the terms used in the book, an Appendix, giving list of plants under respective families and an Index to botanical names and common names have been provided for easy reference.

A lot of literature has been accumulated on the flora of Karnataka including many district floras of the state. Most of them are more technical. To read and to make use of such floras for identification of plants needs a botanical background. For amateurs, knowing about Wild Flowers of Karnataka, has been difficult in the absence of popular field guide. That may be the reason, perhaps the study of wild flowers was not persuaded by amateurs as a hobby. Here is an attempt to popularize Wild Flowers, since there is at present no concise, non-specialist guide to Wild Flowers of Karnataka. This field guide is aimed at fulfilling this long felt need. It is hoped that nature lovers, botanists, foresters as well as nature photographers will find this book useful. It is a modest effort to bring people closer to the nature.

Itis my privilege to thank Late Dr. S.N. Yoganarasimhan, Senior Research Officer and Head of the Medicinal Plants Division, Regional Research Institute (Ayurveda), Bengaluru for constant encouragement and technical support. I would like to acknowledge with a sense of gratitude to Dr. K.R. Keshava Murthy, well known taxonomist and good friend of mine for constructive suggestions. It is my pleasure to acknowledge Dr. Kumaraswamy Udupa, Dept of Botany, JCBM College Sringeri and his family members for the help rendered during the field trip. I also thank my friends and family for their support during the preparation of the book. Messers Divyachandra Prakashana, Bengaluru, who richly deserves appreciation for undertaking to publish this book.