Some interesting facts from a Wikipedia article about this herb: Its common European names are *lamb's lettuce, common cornsalad, *or simply *cornsalad, mâche (/mɑːʃ/), fetticus, feldsalat, nut lettuce, field salad and valerian salad. *In restaurants that feature *French cuisine*, it may be called *doucette *or *raiponce*.In some areas in Germany it is called *Rapunzel *and is the origin of the long haired lady's name in the famous fairy tale. Regarding its use as a vegetable it is written that: "*It has been eaten in Britain for centuries and appears in John Gerard's Herbal of 1597. It was grown commercially in London from the late 18th or early 19th century and appeared on markets as a winter vegetable, but it only became available in modern supermarkets there in the 1980s. American president Thomas Jefferson cultivated mâche at his home.*" Maybe the plants were introduced in Srinagar during British rule. Its cultivation and promotion as an exotic vegetable can be an attractive proposition for enterprising entrepreneurs in Kashmir. Regards Taffazull
On Friday, June 23, 2023 at 11:28:32 AM UTC+5:30 Shakir Ahmad wrote: > Thank you Gurcharan ji!! > > On Fri, 23 Jun, 2023, 10:47 am taffa...@gmail.com, <taffa...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> Dear Gurcharan ji, >> Thanks for the correct I.D. and the attached paper. >> It is surely * Valerianella locusta *and not valerian. >> Hope the photos add to efloraofindia collection as I did not find any >> photos there. >> The calyx lobes in ripe fruit(photo attached) have a single tooth. >> With sincere regards >> Taffazull >> >> >> On Friday, June 23, 2023 at 8:22:29 AM UTC+5:30 Gurcharan Singh wrote: >> >>> Not Valeriana rather Valerianella. Check for V. locusta, I had recorded >>> it as new record in India in 1974, paper attached. >>> >>> On Wednesday, June 21, 2023 at 10:12:39 AM UTC+5:30 taffa...@gmail.com >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Dear Shakir ji, >>>> Thanks for the ID. >>>> However according to Wikipedia Valerians have trifoliate pinnate >>>> leaves with serrated edges but here leaves are entire .Veins are not >>>> prominent (very different from leaves in *V.himalayana *photo at EFI). >>>> Also branching appears to be dichotomous (See attached photo).Also >>>> altitude >>>> of Rawathpora is about1600 meters while *V.himalayana *according to >>>> FOP occurs at 3000-5000m asl. Perhaps identification of the species >>>> would bring more clarity. >>>> Regards >>>> Taffazull >>>> >>>> On Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at 10:30:00 PM UTC+5:30 Shakir Ahmad wrote: >>>> >>>>> >>>>> Valeriana sp. >>>>> On Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at 4:14:41 PM UTC+5:30 taffa...@gmail.com >>>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Dear members, >>>>>> Please help ID this herb which has some peculiar features as >>>>>> mentioned below: >>>>>> Habitat: Edge of lawn in Rawathpora Srinagar. Almost all photos were >>>>>> taken in either the last week of April or first half of May >>>>>> Habit : Herb with green stem 10-15 cm high. L eaves opposite about >>>>>> 5-6mm broad X 12 -15mm long. >>>>>> Branching cymose. Inflorescence is compact and probably cymose >>>>>> Some peculiar features: >>>>>> 1.Calyx gamosepalous with five lobes three narrow 0.5mmX 1.5mm and >>>>>> two broad 0.5mm X1.5 mm. The calyx is fused with the ovary and can not >>>>>> be >>>>>> separated from it. The lobes can be clearly seen in fruit( See photo 5 >>>>>> and >>>>>> photo8). >>>>>> 2.The Corolla has 5 lobes 0.5mm long and Corolla Tube is 1.5mm long >>>>>> and becomes very narrow at the bottom and seems to be attached directly >>>>>> to >>>>>> upper part of the ovary . In my limited experience this is the first >>>>>> time I >>>>>> have seen a corolla tube attached to the upper part of the ovary.( (See >>>>>> photo 4,photo 5 and photo 6) >>>>>> 3. The style is so thin and transparent that it is barely visible but >>>>>> when see seen with a microscope(X50) is clearly trifid (See photo 7). >>>>>> The >>>>>> filaments of the 5 stamens are also very thin, transparent and barely >>>>>> visible. Because of the narrowness of the corolla tube in the lower >>>>>> portion >>>>>> I could not ascertain the point of attachment of the stamens. >>>>>> The fruit seems to contain a single seed.(see photo 9) >>>>>> Regards >>>>>> Taffazull >>>>>> >>>>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the >> Google Groups "eFloraofIndia" group. >> To unsubscribe from this topic, visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/topic/indiantreepix/fjWj_Eqav0U/unsubscribe. >> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to >> indiantreepi...@googlegroups.com. >> To view this discussion on the web, visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/indiantreepix/2f6a5f48-b5e9-411c-89f1-999833416e6fn%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/indiantreepix/2f6a5f48-b5e9-411c-89f1-999833416e6fn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "eFloraofIndia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to indiantreepix+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/indiantreepix/3a14db46-5f21-4ff3-aad8-ac83e981f168n%40googlegroups.com.
