Thanks a lot Shrikant ji for this interesting upload.
-- Dr. Gurcharan Singh Retired Associate Professor SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018. Phone: 011-25518297 Mob: 9810359089 http://www.gurcharanfamily.com/ http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ On Thu, Oct 11, 2012 at 8:49 PM, Dinesh Valke <dinesh.va...@gmail.com>wrote: > Wonderful and intriguing lifecycle ... thank you very much Shrikant ji for > sharing the photos and knowledge. > Regards. > Dinesh > > > > > On Fri, Oct 12, 2012 at 8:09 AM, shrikant ingalhalikar < > le...@rediffmail.com> wrote: > >> I hope 2 images posted earlier aroused enough curiosity. >> >> The aquatic plant with most curious life cycle on the Kas Plateau- At the >> begining of monsoon, as soon as water collects in the depression on the >> plateau, a pink bud (Curious 1) rises above through the wet ground. The >> stalk grows very rapidly to about 10 cm and the bud opens up to disguise >> like a flower (Curious 2). This is actually the capsule of Cryptocoryne >> spiralis, of Araceae. The seeds get dispersed in shallow flowing water and >> germinate. The plant then grows a cluster of cauline leaves in wet season >> (Curious 3), the corm lying well below the ground. At the end of rainy >> season a spadix inflorescence grows from the base of the plant (Curious 4) >> and sends out a spiral spathe above the ground. The insects enter through >> the spiral entrance and pollinate the underground spadix. The capsule and >> seeds remain underground (Crypt) and await the next rainy season to emerge >> above ground. Many Araceae plants have elongating peduncle like this one, >> some even bury themselves from above when the ground is still wet. All this >> is to protect seeds below ground till the wet season. >> >> I conclude my contribution to Kas episode with this plant that fascinates >> me the most. Regards, >> >> -- >> >> >> >> > > -- > > > > --
