SciGenom Research Foundation is building a collection of Medicinal plants that grow naturally in Kerala, at an estate in Cheruthurthy, near Shornur, Kerala . The objectives are conservation and research. At present we have over 400 species and we hope to be able to collect all 750 odd species mentioned in Hortus Malabricus. In addition we have been also collecting Wild Orchids and have about 120 species now.
Our Naturalist Mr. Manoj leads the effort in collecting and maintaining these plants. For additional information, feel free to reach him at manoj.p@sgrf.org
Azolla pinnata is a species of fern known by several common names, including mosquitofern, feathered mosquitofern and water velvet. It is native to much of Africa, Asia (Brunei Darussalam, China, India, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines) and parts of Australia. It is an aquatic plant, its frond floating upon the surface of the water. It grows in quiet and slow-moving water bodies, because swift currents and waves break up the plant. Read more..
Prostrate herbs. Leaves ternate, unequal, 3-5 x 2 cm, obovate, apex apiculate, puberulus, margins distantly serrate; petiole to 3 cm. Flowers axillary; bracts 4 pairs, obovate, margins dentate with stiff elongated hairs, bracteoles 1.5 cm, spathulate; outer calyx lobes 1.3 cm and 1.8 cm, oblong, 2 and 3 veined, inner 8 mm; corolla tube urceolate, 5 mm, lower lip reduced, upper lip 3 lobed, 18 x 12 mm, white with pink nerves; filaments 4 and 5 mm, anthers 1-celled, apiculate, bearded; ovary 2.5 mm, oblong, style 1 cm, with a basal ring. Read more..
Global Distribution
Southern Western Ghats
Indian distribution
State - Kerala, District/s: Kannur
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Epiphytic herbs; stem tufted, 10-25 cm long; internodes2-3 cm long. Leaves appears before flowering, 5-7 x 2-2.5 cm, elliptic-lanceolate, base sheathing, apex acute. Racemes many-flowered, 3-8 cm long, terminal or from axils of fallen leaves. Flowers 1.5-2 cm across, creamy white; bracts ovate-lanceolate. Sepals 1.2-1.5 x 0.4-0.6 cm, elliptic-oblong. Petals 1.2-1.5 x 0.5-0.7 cm, lateral petals spathulate. Lip c. 1.5 cm long, 3-lobed, yellow-hairy on dorsal side, mid-lobe large, obovate, side-lobes small, falcate; mentum 4-5 mm long. Pedicel and ovary 1.5-2 cm long. Capsule fusiform.
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Stout pendulous epiphytes, stem terete, glabrous. Leaves to 7 x 4 cm, elliptic, acuminate, base acute, thick and coriaceous; nerves 6-8 pairs, horizontal; petiole to 2 cm long. Flowers yellowish white, 1.5 cm across, many together; peduncles to 1 cm long, stout; pedicels 2.5 cm long; sepals 2.5 mm long, ovate, ciliolate; corolla lobes ovate, margins revolute; corona deep purple, 6 x 6 mm, lobes 3 mm high, subglobose.
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Slender erect shrubs. Leaves 4-13 x 2-4.5 cm, lanceolate, base broadly acute to rounded, apex acute to shortly acuminate, thin-coriaceous; stipules 5-6 mm long, triangular with subulate tip. Cymes corymbiform, flacid, few-flowered. Bracts and bracteoles 2-2.5 mm long, subulate. Calyx campanulate; lobes 3-3.5 mm long. Corolla greenish yellow; tube 1.6-2 cm long; lobes 4-5 mm long, lanceolate, curled and recurved. Stamens attached between lobes at throat of tube. Berry c. 1 cm across, subglobose.
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Limnocharis flava (commonly known as yellow velvetleaf, sawah flower rush, sawah lettuce) is a species of aquatic flowering plant which is native to Mexico, Central America, South America, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic but widely naturalized in southern and southeastern Asia: India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and southern China (Guangdong, Yunnan).
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Limnophila aromatica (synonym: Limnophila chinensis var. aromatica; also called rice paddy herb) is a tropical flowering plant in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia, where it flourishes in hot temperatures and grows most often in watery environments, particularly in flooded rice fields. Read more..
The Indian Lotus, also known as the Sacred Lotus, is a culturally significant plant in many Asian cultures in general and Indian culture in particular. It is a plant native to the Indian subcontinent, but now is found as an ornamental plant worldwide. The Lotus is considered a symbol of devotion and purity. It is the seat of Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Saraswati, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma. The flowers of Lotus have several medicinal properties as per Ayurveda. Lotus is also the national flower of India.
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Nymphaea 'Colorado' is a hardy waterlily. It's date of origin is 1994. It is a classic Dr. Kirk Strawn hybrids with salmon colored blooms that are held 3 to 4 inches above the water. The blooms are a soft pink on the outer petals to a soft peach color on the innermost petals. It has 26 to 28 petals on a 3 to 4 inch stellate bloom with a very pleasant fragrance. Pads are a medium green that start out olive green with faint mottling the disappears over time. The pads are 5 to 7 inch and result in a 3 to 5 foot spread for the plant. It is a prolific bloomer and will bloom late into the season beyond many other hardy waterlilies.
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Nymphaea nouchali, often known by its synonym Nymphaea stellata, or by common names blue lotus, star lotus,[citation needed] red and blue water lily, or blue star water lily is a water lily of genus Nymphaea. It is native to southern and eastern parts of Asia, and is the national flower of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. This species is sometimes considered to include the blue Egyptian lotus Nymphaea caerulea.In the past, taxonomic confusion has occurred, with the name Nymphaea nouchali incorrectly applied to Nymphaea pubescens.
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This plant is common in shallow lakes and ponds throughout temperate and tropical Asia: Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Yunnan, Taiwan, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.
It is also found in northeastern Australia and Papua New Guinea.
The hairy water lily is found both as a cultivated plant as well as in the wild. It prefers non-acidic waters and it does not tolerate temperatures below 15 oC.
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Nymphaea nouchali, commonly known as the Red and blue water lily, Blue star water lily, Star lotus, or by its synonym Nymphaea stellata, is a water lily of genus Nymphaea. This aquatic plant is native to the Indian Subcontinent. It was spread to other countries already in ancient times and has been long valued as a garden flower in Thailand and Myanmar to decorate ponds and gardens. This plant has medicinal significance in Ayurveda too. It is considered a holy flower in Buddhism.
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The genus Pholidota belongs to the family Orchidaceae and the subtribe Coelogyninae. Genera that are part of this subtribe are usually terrestrial or epiphytic. Great variation exists among leaf types of this genus; however, the flowers are usually small to large and appear upside down.
Species of this genus can be found across much of eastern and southern Asia (Indian Subcontinent, southern China, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, etc.), as well as in New Guinea and Queensland, and on some Pacific Islands.
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Pistia is a genus of aquatic plant in the arum family, Araceae. The single species it comprises, Pistia stratiotes, is often called water cabbage, water lettuce, Nile cabbage, or shellflower. Its native distribution is uncertain, but probably pantropical; it was first discovered from the Nile near Lake Victoria in Africa. It is now present, either naturally or through human introduction, in nearly all tropical and subtropical fresh waterways. The genus name is derived from the Greek word (pistos), meaning "water," and refers to the aquatic nature of the plants.
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Rhynchostylis retusa (also called Foxtail Orchid) is an exotic blooming orchid, belonging to the Vanda alliance. The inflorescence is a pendant raceme, consisting of more than 100 pink-spotted white flowers. The plant has a short, stout, creeping stem carrying up to 12, curved, fleshy, deeply channeled, keeled, retuse apically leaves and blooms on an axillary pendant to 60 cm (24 in) long, racemose, densely flowered, cylindrical inflorescence that occurs in the winter and early spring. It is generally famous for its use as an hair-ornament worn by Assamese women during folk dance Bihu on the onset of Spring.
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Stout pendulous epiphytes, stem terete, glabrous. Leaves to 7 x 4 cm, elliptic, acuminate, base acute, thick and coriaceous; nerves 6-8 pairs, horizontal; petiole to 2 cm long. Flowers yellowish white, 1.5 cm across, many together; peduncles to 1 cm long, stout; pedicels 2.5 cm long; sepals 2.5 mm long, ovate, ciliolate; corolla lobes ovate, margins revolute; corona deep purple, 6 x 6 mm, lobes 3 mm high, subglobose.
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