Thanks Surajit... could you please ask Dr Raju if he means the father or the son when he talks of "YOUNG LINNEAUS" thanks Usha di
On Thu, Aug 9, 2012 at 8:07 AM, surajit koley (Google Drive) < [email protected]> wrote: > [image: Document] I've shared LINNAEUS and > MALABAR<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jXguClxR_xxPxXGx_Z05FubHrg2w5niuHd8ngL_bxg0/edit> > Click to open: > > - LINNAEUS and > MALABAR<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jXguClxR_xxPxXGx_Z05FubHrg2w5niuHd8ngL_bxg0/edit> > > > CELEBRATION OF BICENTENARY OF LINNAEUS AT CALICUT > > [ Text of the talk by D.C.S.Raju, F.L.S., Central National Herbarium, > Botanical Survey of India, Howrah ] > > Honourable Vice Chancellor Dr. Purushottaman, Respected Dr. > Gopalakrishnan, Dr.Achutan, Prof. Manilal, and Friends of this August > meeting, I have great pleasure to be with you in a wonderful habitat > with a glorious past. > > I am not going to speak much of Linne as Dr Gopalakrishnan spoke of > categories, species and conservation of natural resources but I wish to > mention the role played by people of Kerala, during 16th -18th centuries, > when explorations for trade and scientific knowledge were going on. It is > strange enough that Calicut was hospitable to seafarers 500 yrs ago just > as it is a travellers’ paradise today. Spice trade from Cochin encouraged > botanical studies by Europeans just as Calicut University is promoting > taxonomic research on Flora of Malabar today. > > Now coming to the point of plant wealth of Kerala and its relevance to > Linnaean Classics I should first make reference to the Dutch East India > Company <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_India_Company>. We very > well know that Van Rheede<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrik_van_Rheede> an > army officer returned from Holland as Governor of Malabar. He got > translations of Sanskrit texts and brought out Hortus > Malabaricus<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hortus_Malabaricus> 300 > years ago. But it was George > Clifford<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Clifford_III> > , the richest Banker of Amsterdam who actually cultivated many trees of > Malabar at Hartecamp <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartekamp>. He also > maintained a zoo as it was a fashion those days. > > The young Linnaeus was lucky to be in the employ of Clifford as a > physician and pursue his botanical research for over 2 yrs. Well, as I am > curious about red banana <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_banana> of > Kerala, Linne was also interested in the plantain from Malabar. He grew > this plantain in a hot house<http://www.linnaeus.uu.se/online/life/6_3.html>, > got it flowered and fruited and fully described. This work on > banana<http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/%7Edrc/mparadisiaca.htm> is > a rare book as only 500 copies were printed. One copy is right here as > exhibit of 1736. Along with this Linne also gave the world a classification > of Nature to distinguish various kinds of plants, animals and rocks. Linne > explored Lapland <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapland_%28Sweden%29> covering > 1400 miles and made name in geography. As he was a doctor, Linne prepared > Materia > Medica in 1749 <http://www.linnaeus.uu.se/online/pharm/medicinal.html> and > included many indian plants. He obtained seeds from > Aleppo<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleppo> through > friends like > Russell<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Russell_%28herpetologist%29> and > pupils like Koenig<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Gerhard_K%C3%B6nig> > working > in Coramandel. All our plants were classified according to sexual system > and given latin names like Sonerila, Areca, Myristica, Oryza, Melastoma > etc. For many names Linne cited Hortus > Malabaricus<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hortus_Malabaricus> tables > and since 1753 his binomial system became standard for whole world. > > Following Linnaean system of nomenclature T.F. > Bourdillon<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FT._F._Bourdillon&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFcnxJ7pn1_p7ZtsFK1mxRw5UDAIA> > wrote > the first Forest Flora of Kerala, 85 yrs ago, which is really an Indian > Flora of plant geographers as Malabarica and Coromandelia are natural > regions of India. The Dutch Professor J. > Burman<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Burman> cultivated > Cinnamon trees and published Flora Malabarica in 1769, whereas his son N. > L. Burman <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaas_Laurens_Burman> brought > out a Flora Indica in 1768 while Linne was revising his Species > Plantarum<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species_Plantarum> > . > > Incidentally I like to mention here that Loeseneriella > bourdillonii<http://books.google.co.in/books?id=XIL9adYYeSIC&pg=PA134&lpg=PA134&dq=Loeseneriella+bourdillonii+gamble+raju&source=bl&ots=29hjYQPEdL&sig=JuGxq1E5sdQCFPy0CfPvs_LIWus&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UmEhUN-0McHYrQfdkoD4DQ&ved=0CGMQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Loeseneriella%20bourdillonii%20gamble%20raju&f=false> > (Gamble) > Raju<http://books.google.co.in/books?id=XIL9adYYeSIC&pg=PA134&lpg=PA134&dq=Loeseneriella+bourdillonii+gamble+raju&source=bl&ots=29hjYQPEdL&sig=JuGxq1E5sdQCFPy0CfPvs_LIWus&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UmEhUN-0McHYrQfdkoD4DQ&ved=0CGMQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Loeseneriella%20bourdillonii%20gamble%20raju&f=false> > is > a Hippocratea > species<http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=893> in > honour of Bourdillon <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._F._Bourdillon> with > new status. Dr Buchanan, Cleghorn, Beddome, Wight, Fischer, Gamble, > Hohenacker, Rama Rao and others studied rich vegetation of Kerala when > this area was quite sylvan and not industrialised and there were no > universities. Now the gigantic trees are gradually disappearing before > their life histories are known, Habitats are shrinking with unforeseen > results after few generations. A single Linnean species in food-chain or > ecosystem makes a difference if it is a key species. > > Very few botanists in our country know the true nature of Indian > vegetation as enunciated by Prof. Van > Steenis<http://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/chronob/STEE1901.htm>. > Indian vegetation is part of monsoon forests of Asia with moist deciduous > elements dominated by > Dipterocarpus<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipterocarpus> family. > The evergreen forests of Assam valley with Dipterocarpus turbinatus, D. > manni, Shorea robusta <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shorea_classification> in > indo-gangetic plains, Shorea tumbuggaia, Shorea talura in Eastern ghats, > Hopea parviflora right near Calicut University, Vatica sp in Sahyadri > range of Western ghats are pointers with their winged seeds as just > dipterocarps in relation to regional habitat at macro and micro levels > for proper evaluation to ensure conservation of plant resources . > > A Flora of Kerala is the immediate need of the day as it was for Linne > in 1745 to write a Swedish Flora for many practical purposes. Linne > studied Wild Rye (Elymus) and somebody is recently searching wild nutmegs > of Kerala for a gene bank. I am myself wondering about Poeciloneuron and > Myristica > malabarica<http://www.biotik.org/india/species/m/myrimala/myrimala_en.html>, > as I have not seen them though they are noblest trees of Malabar. Linnaeus > cultured pearls, cured cancers, talked of solar energy. He classified > diseases and classified scientists and systems of classification. How many > of us know Linnaeus is called Dioscorides 2nd whereas we call him as > Prince of Botanists. > > I am sure that Prof. Manilal and all his colleagues would simulate a > school of Linnaeus in Calicut to unravel mysteries of biology, reproduction > and chromosome behavior in the footsteps of Janaki Ammal the great botanist > who reorganised Botanical Survey of India. With these few words of > enthusiasm I join you all and thank you for the hospitality. > > INDIAN ASSOCIATION FOR ANGIOSPERM TAXONOMY > > --------------------------------------- > > --------------------------------------- > > > Google Drive: create, share and keep all of your stuff in one place. > [image: Logo for Google Drive] <https://drive.google.com> > > -- > > > > -- Usha di =========== --
