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down...... The live fences |
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| The majestic Aesculus |
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| Oh..what an Oak |
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| Beautiful and majestic........ |
September 23, 2010
trees of Horten, Vestfold, Norway
September 22, 2010
a Viscum in Vestfold, Norway
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| Viscum sp (?) in a maple in Horten sentrum |
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| The 'parasite' in a more closer range |
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| A more closer shot |
September 21, 2010
In Uppsala with Prof. Liden in Linn Hammarby
Miles away I am thankful to my late Prof. LCB for engineering this trip. He threw open a really wonderful path for me. Alas he is not there today. I can imagine how enthusiastically you would had welcomed my pilgrimage to the Linnaen sites. Miss you, Sir.
Another professor, who with equal enthusiasm and spirit welcomed my interest and desire to vist the Uppsala heritage sites was Prof. Magnus Liden of Uppsala University. Since the days of my Linnaeus ecourse, I had nourised a secret dream to visit this place. But never in my wildest dreams did I expect that I would receive one of the most memorable welcomes in my professional life.
Prof. Liden is a natural plant taxonomist. Devoid of any trappings, he was very easy going & knowledgeable. More importantly he was ready to explain and took pains to show me all that is worth seeing for me around in his own car. He took me everywhere, the museums, the gardens, the Hammarby. Thank you so much, Prof. Liden. Yes, I will come again to see the cathedral we missed.
Not at all forgetting Mr. Abdulla, the young Turkish botanist who was with us. I am sure he is soon going to make a name for himself in Ankara. Good luck, young man. One day I will visit your garden.
How can I miss to thank my dear sister-in-law and her sister (Yup, my wife) for leading from the front and making this trip a memorable one for me? Thank you so much.
Ya, behind every successful man there is a woman (so said an idiot)
In the Linn Hammarby, his summer house-cum-lecture halls
Another professor, who with equal enthusiasm and spirit welcomed my interest and desire to vist the Uppsala heritage sites was Prof. Magnus Liden of Uppsala University. Since the days of my Linnaeus ecourse, I had nourised a secret dream to visit this place. But never in my wildest dreams did I expect that I would receive one of the most memorable welcomes in my professional life.
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| Prof. Liden explaining the theme plant of the first paper of Linn |
Not at all forgetting Mr. Abdulla, the young Turkish botanist who was with us. I am sure he is soon going to make a name for himself in Ankara. Good luck, young man. One day I will visit your garden.
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| Hi Abdulla...Thank U |
Ya, behind every successful man there is a woman (so said an idiot)
September 19, 2010
the red maple of Stockholm
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| The motif and the orginal..dont miss the fruits |
Walking down Stockholm I bumped into a maple tree. Be it Stockholm, Oslo or Horten, there are lot of trees in these scandinavian cities. Enthusiastically eyeing the morphology, I was led into another strange discovery. A flag flurting atop it. What a strange coincidence.........The motif and its original underneath it........By the by, dont miss the winged fruits-botanically 'samaras' (they here also call these fruits a 'key' 'spinning jenny'etc)- in the picture of the tree posted above.
I browsed and found out that there are about 125 species of maple trees in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere. Maple leaves are lobed, small and oppositely placed. They change colour during the autmn or fall season. The trees here have started to change their leaf colour.
The motif in Canadian flag is the leaf of Red Maple, Acer rubrum. Though having very low timber value, red maple is used for the production of maple syrup. It is edible and of use in confectionary. The primary use is in landscaping.
September 16, 2010
Carl Linnaeus and me
Wow....at Uppsala, Sweden today visiting the Linnaeus Hammarby, Garden and Musuem....I dont know how to thank Prof. Magnus Liden and Mr. Abdulla. Thank you so much.
What a pilgrimage was this visit of mine?......Memorable. Truly enchanting and will live as long as my memory will stay with me. Visiting the very place where this astonishing naturalist worked, lived, planted and finally breathed his last. His apple tree is still there!
More pics and write ups when I get back to Horten from here..Stockholm...
What a pilgrimage was this visit of mine?......Memorable. Truly enchanting and will live as long as my memory will stay with me. Visiting the very place where this astonishing naturalist worked, lived, planted and finally breathed his last. His apple tree is still there!
More pics and write ups when I get back to Horten from here..Stockholm...
September 13, 2010
Batteri, Oaks of Horten
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| finally I saw an acorn! Walking through Horten in the Monday forenoon sun was exciting. The sun was burning bright today, but not enough to beat the chill. I cannot walk like this back in Kerala-would be 'fried' in 15 minutes. As usual, my eyes followed the trees and the other plants that are quite in numbers all over here. Saw a number of huge oaks-species I have to 'research' and find out. My companion told me the other tree with its white bark is a birch. I might have also seen maples (????) from the shape of the leaf it seems like that! |
Also went to the Batteri-never knew that the Third Reich was here in Norway. No, I didnt have any idea about 'Operation Weserübung' until my visit today.
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| amidst the Green Umbrellas of Batteri, Horten |
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| upon a tree stump across the Batteri The Batteri is on the side of a seashore, just opposite the old light house. It is surrounded by a thickly wooded area. I have abolutely no idea about the species there, but one quick look tells me the presence of Oak. It is a really good park-full of 'Green Umbrellas'. Good that the Hortens are preserving such a good greenery in their midst. |
September 12, 2010
Horten, Vestfold, Norway
this blog post is from Norway. I landed here on 10th with Shiny in tow. My European holiday is not without scholastic objectives. How can, afterall a self-styled naturalist stay away from ecology and biodiversity? He ha ha. As the Turkish airplane slowly descended down to OSL, I was surprised by the greenery around. The typical cone shaped crowns of the pines (i have to find out the species..rather I have to find out a passionate Norge botanist or dendrolgist who can help me to identify the vegetation here...) emerged more clearly.
My surprise is because I thought since Norway is on the higher latitudes, the ecology is not conducive for so much greenery. I should re-orient my Global Forestry lectures. Touching down and taking a 2 hour rail drive to Horten further proved my perceptions wrong. What a fool am I? There is so much here for a plantist (yes, my term for a plant enthusiast). From the speeding train I think I could make out a few Asteraceae members. Unfortunately, I know very less.
Though it was drizlling, I strolled a bit through Horten today evening. Very close to the sea side, the neighbourhood has very beautiful gardens. All the houses (or apartments) have lovely flowers. And the owners do keep them clean and tidy as well. I did not get time for a very detailed examination, though the big sized roses did not miss my eyes. Most of the other flowers, I could not recognise, eventhough I think I came across a lot of Gamopetalae members. I have no local Floras to identify them for myself.
In the gardens, I saw apple trees and apples in them. Back home in Kerala, India we have to buy apples (grown in far off Shimla), India to eat! I also saw some trees (and some on the fences which are of sapling size) on the roadsides-from the leaf morphology I have a feeling that it belongs to Malus species.
I am missing my digital camera. More importanlty, for the next 29 days, I am going to miss the plants if I dont stumble upon a local naturalist.
My surprise is because I thought since Norway is on the higher latitudes, the ecology is not conducive for so much greenery. I should re-orient my Global Forestry lectures. Touching down and taking a 2 hour rail drive to Horten further proved my perceptions wrong. What a fool am I? There is so much here for a plantist (yes, my term for a plant enthusiast). From the speeding train I think I could make out a few Asteraceae members. Unfortunately, I know very less.
Though it was drizlling, I strolled a bit through Horten today evening. Very close to the sea side, the neighbourhood has very beautiful gardens. All the houses (or apartments) have lovely flowers. And the owners do keep them clean and tidy as well. I did not get time for a very detailed examination, though the big sized roses did not miss my eyes. Most of the other flowers, I could not recognise, eventhough I think I came across a lot of Gamopetalae members. I have no local Floras to identify them for myself.
In the gardens, I saw apple trees and apples in them. Back home in Kerala, India we have to buy apples (grown in far off Shimla), India to eat! I also saw some trees (and some on the fences which are of sapling size) on the roadsides-from the leaf morphology I have a feeling that it belongs to Malus species.
I am missing my digital camera. More importanlty, for the next 29 days, I am going to miss the plants if I dont stumble upon a local naturalist.
September 3, 2010
Chaala Kambolam
à´šാലയിà´²് à´žാà´¨് à´ªോà´¯ിà´°ുà´¨്à´¨ു വളരെ à´•ാലത്à´¤ിà´¨ു à´¶േà´·ം....à´šാà´² à´•à´®്à´ªോളത്à´¤ിà´²് വച്à´š് à´¨ിà´¨്à´¨െ à´•à´£്à´Ÿà´¤ിà´¨ുà´¶േà´·ം.....
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| ഉത്à´°ാà´Ÿ à´¨ാà´³ിà´²് à´šാലയിà´²ൂà´Ÿെ |
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| à´µെà´±്à´±ിà´², à´…à´Ÿà´•്à´• :പച്à´šà´ª്à´ª് ഇല്à´²ാà´¤െ à´Žà´¨്à´¤് à´šാà´², à´Žà´¨്à´¤് à´“à´£ം? |
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| à´ªൂà´µിà´³ി à´ªൂà´µിà´³ി à´ªൊà´¨്à´¨ോണമാà´¯ി..à´ˆ à´ªൂà´š്à´šെà´Ÿിà´•à´³് à´•േരളത്à´¤ിà´²് ഉണ്à´Ÿോ ? |
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| à´¤ിà´°ുà´µോണനാà´³ിà´²് à´¤ിà´°à´•്à´•ൊà´´ിà´ž്à´žു à´šാà´² à´•à´®്à´ªോà´³ം |
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| à´Žà´²്à´²ാം à´•ാà´£ുà´¨്à´¨ à´•ിà´´à´•്à´•േ à´•ോà´Ÿ്à´Ÿ...à´Žà´¤്à´° à´“à´£ം à´•ാà´£ാà´¨ിà´°ിà´•്à´•ുà´¨്à´¨ു ? |
Sir Dietrich Brandis
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| Sir Dietrich Brandis |
This man loved plants. I was at Dehradoon, India last December. Dehradoon is known as the "mecca" of Indian forestry. I don't know why it is still called like that!!!!! Forest science has gone a long, long way forward, fellas. another Colonial hangover, may be......
I walked through the tree collection by Brandis. Wow....it has to be seen....After all, as a true Dendrologist (tree botanist), Brandis had much passion for trees. He wrote a big fat book called Indian Trees as well.
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| The walking trail of the great German forester |
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| Really proud to be in the midst of this Green Umbrella by him |
August 20, 2010
ONAM: a Green Festival
ONAM (Oh num) is the state festival of Kerala, India. It is a harvest festival, celebrates the glory and prosperity of a rich, bountiful harvest of plant products from the farms.
This festival falls in the Malayalam month of Chingam (now in August). This month follows the lean months of rainfall. With Chingam, the sun re-appears after 2-3 months of hide-and-seek with rain clouds. So chingam is springtime...the green umbrellas after a long battering of heavy downpour stands up and produces flowers of all hues and shades. At least in the countrysides, one can hope to see the Dashapushpams (ten flowers). I don't see all ten of them around, except in the newspapers.
Yes, Onam is celebration of prosperity. People spend money to buy new clothes and also to travel to their ancestral home (digging out own roots!) and have a good onasadya (Onam feast on the 2nd day of ONAM) on a tender plantain leaf. Really mouth watering........
Yup..wihout the green plants there is no ONAM. Onam is a celebration of plants and only when plants are conserved, be it paddy or Dashapushpams, can we celebrate ONAM.
No doubt, Onam is a Green Festival.
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| Thiruonasadya: It is all green here |
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| Floral carpet called Pookalam |
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| A close up of Pookalam-flowers, flowers.... |
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| Puli (tigers and leopards) raiding me! |
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| Kallavumilla chathivumilla......Pranamum Thampurane |
August 14, 2010
Chengaloor GLPS
This forenoon we were in Chengaloor GPS in Puthukad. We held the farmers' seminar and the "mini exhibition" there. As I wrote before, COF focused on Puthukad to educate our graduates about villages, villagers and their lifes (Do Kerala got real villages???). While dreaming about how to do the module, my sub-conscious mind recalled Bapuji's dream of "every village youth going to town to master the skills should come back and serve". How beautiful & True. I thought to give Jithinnath and his friends a memorable lesson.
But these days the youths rarely come back. Instead they "uproot" & "transplant" their full family to the town. If every village in India becomes self sufficient, India will become the superpower that it is projected to become. Only possible if our youths are willing to spare their mind, muscle and time for their rustic brethren.Even if they chose to be in the town.
Lemme come back to GLPS. I have seen innumerable schools, especially GLPS. My journeys to conduct the election took me to several schools. Every school greets you with a large open space-the play ground. Not Chengaloor GLPS.
Not that this school is not having a play ground. It is there..the difference..strategically located Green Umbrellas...The kids can run (they must run..how else can they develop the muscles and balance?) just freely around, but they are protected from the tropical SUN by the green canopy above.
I salute the human beings who hoisted the "GREEN UMBRELLAS" here very long ago. Tomorrow, in our independence day, our future generation will hoist our tri-color under the safe canopy of these gigantic trees.
But these days the youths rarely come back. Instead they "uproot" & "transplant" their full family to the town. If every village in India becomes self sufficient, India will become the superpower that it is projected to become. Only possible if our youths are willing to spare their mind, muscle and time for their rustic brethren.Even if they chose to be in the town.
Lemme come back to GLPS. I have seen innumerable schools, especially GLPS. My journeys to conduct the election took me to several schools. Every school greets you with a large open space-the play ground. Not Chengaloor GLPS.
Not that this school is not having a play ground. It is there..the difference..strategically located Green Umbrellas...The kids can run (they must run..how else can they develop the muscles and balance?) just freely around, but they are protected from the tropical SUN by the green canopy above.
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| The beautiful small school |
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| the Fig with its arms spread |
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| Bauhinia grove...Oh ho.....congrats teachers and kids |
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| de Vaa-zha yum |
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| Look and learn |
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| Karaskrithathin kuru paalil........... |
I salute the human beings who hoisted the "GREEN UMBRELLAS" here very long ago. Tomorrow, in our independence day, our future generation will hoist our tri-color under the safe canopy of these gigantic trees.
August 11, 2010
Chennai..Singara Chennai
Chennai or Madras is always a lovely place. For me, it's a city where history sleeps..It has a valuable past and paints a bright future as well.....The public transport is a mascot of an administration concerned about social welfare, &, at the same time, ecological footprint. I derived mental pleasure in riding in the city bus. I frequently brushed aside Sreepathy's criticism..he called me a "miser" for not opting to use his Bullet or an auto rickshaw.
Strolling thru the galis (thanks to Shiny, I walked alongside her like a kid) I saw dirt, slum people and their lives....maybe I will be able to do something, some time.....when? i don't know! India has to go a long way, no doubt.
Coming from a quiet, relatively dust free, smoke free area, I naturally choked. Yes, I was in Chennai for 2 days. I was disturbed by the noise pollution. A "disciplinarian" (discipline is a perversion?) like me naturally did not like how Chennaites drove their vehicles of all types from the now-getting-rare bullock carts, bicycles and the M Benz. I was not at all angry, though. On the other hand, I was surprised to feel the urgency and positive spirit of the Chennai folks.
Naturally, I wondered about the "Green Umbrellas" of Chennai. It is everywhere........copper pods, Lannea coromandelica (I learned that this is a good avenue tree, Thanks Chennai) & much more.........
congrats & Thanks........Chennaites for opting the Green Umbrellas.
Strolling thru the galis (thanks to Shiny, I walked alongside her like a kid) I saw dirt, slum people and their lives....maybe I will be able to do something, some time.....when? i don't know! India has to go a long way, no doubt.
Coming from a quiet, relatively dust free, smoke free area, I naturally choked. Yes, I was in Chennai for 2 days. I was disturbed by the noise pollution. A "disciplinarian" (discipline is a perversion?) like me naturally did not like how Chennaites drove their vehicles of all types from the now-getting-rare bullock carts, bicycles and the M Benz. I was not at all angry, though. On the other hand, I was surprised to feel the urgency and positive spirit of the Chennai folks.
Naturally, I wondered about the "Green Umbrellas" of Chennai. It is everywhere........copper pods, Lannea coromandelica (I learned that this is a good avenue tree, Thanks Chennai) & much more.........
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| Polyalthia longifolia-the green umbrellas in front of Southern Railways |
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| Another view |
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| trees are elastic and plastic...Pruned & shaped up |
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| Plants give you anti-oxidants! |
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| beat the heat and cholesterol as well |
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| The Green Umbrellas shielding GOD-live and let live |
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| Shiny going green for lunch in Anna Salai |
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| The Green Umbrellas of Madras High court |
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| Tree breaks to cut noise and dust pollution |
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| The street might be busy...the pavement is however "green" |
maatu-mala of Puthukkad
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| Once a grass topped hillock..now a "lake" |
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| Afrikan payal |
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| Stone is money?????????. |
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| A grand canyon indeed..but be careful |
Yes, a big boulder is a commodity, and it has, naturally to be traded. Like how we do with soil & sand. And trade, they did, ripping open and converting most part of it into a large monstrous "lake"(??)! Locals told me that a corpse which was finally fished out from the depths was "frozen". Now they are planning a boating facility with rope-way facility on it. Yup..cashing on the opportunity..thatz a gud economic brain......
I was there on Aug 31 with my green army for unfolding green umbrellas over the left over earth with Emblica officinalis (Amla) - giving our bit to convert maatu-mala into a nelli mala . The local MLA & the Panchayath authorities all planted amla seedlings.
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| Prof. C. Raveendranath, MLA planting a nelli seedling |
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