The spark started from an online discussion by Rojah Muthian Library on the origins of Vilaku (lamp) and its relevance to South Indian Culture by Mr. Palaniappan Vairam Sarathy. His works were documented in his blog karka nirka (meaning to learn and to retain with a beautiful rhyme). He had also researched on identifying the botanical names of 99 flowers from a sangam poem written by Kapilar.
https://karkanirka.org/2009/04/23/99tamilflowers_index/
I hurriedly glanced at his slides, hoping to identify as many flowers as possible. I recognised only 5 of them—a huge disappointment spread over my face. I asked my sister to give it a try. She also only knew a few. Pondering over it, I went on my usual evening walk. Randomly, it dawned upon me that a tree that I passed every day was actually among the 99 flowers. The moment I became aware of it. It became animated. It became a friend. I opened my eyes. Started looking for plants around me.
Then I showed it to the people around me. One anna said he has seen about 30 of them around his village. This is a great connection between the past and the present. It brings the silent green beings on the side of the roads to life, with stories. They had to be seen!
I decided to make a field guide. As I embark on this journey, I shall record my references and ideas here to track them.
I was initially convinced that all of them were native plants of South India. But not all are! Based on the invasive species list by the Botanical Survey of India portal (http://bsienvis.nic.in/Database/Invasive_Alien_species_15896.aspx ), Calotropis Gigantea ( flower 99: Puzhagu) is an invasive species from Africa. The Sangam period is approximately dated from 3BCE to 3CE. Did this migration happen back then?
The source website that offers a great deal of information about these plants is https://www.flowersofindia.net/
All the information collected online are marked to flowers and charted in this excel https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aXPPqeCXtToqMox6VCIe0SW_q7yYmiXMFA9NEr0EON0/edit?usp=sharing
This plant nursery, by an organisation called Arulagam is working towards conserving the native plants of the soil. They are situated right at the base of the Western Ghats. After my preliminary searches, I intend to connect with them for further identification. https://youtu.be/bMILXPMb7mw?si=TyApZuOhV08MPHjV
I found two interesting websites that map flowers in Europe ( https://identify.plantnet.org/) and in the US ( https://wildflowersearch.org/). They have a detailed depository of the plants, their images.
One site goes further to put them on an interactive map. Quite mesmerizing. https://geo.plantnet.org/
The research by Mr. Palaniappan focuses on the botanical name and the common English name of the plants. The local Tamil names are not given for everything. Apart from oral knowledge of the people, this blog is also seems to be a good source https://roamingowls.com/2021/07/30/tamil-names-of-plants-of-tamil-nadu/
For the design inspiration: https://www.plantlife.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/WEB-Plantlife-Wild-Flowers-Count-ID-Wildflowers.pdf. In this guide, the wildflowers are segregated based on the flower colour. There is a representation of the flowering months. I do not prefer the illustrations. Instead, I can give a distinct feature of the plant. Maybe a particular seed, leaf, or special characteristic. Not all pictures are taken by the person. The ones from the internet are given due credit.
These are plants in the Red List of the IUCN. There are 136 of them in Tamil Nadu. The Western Ghats are also a biodiversity hotspot. I need to cross-check if any of these names are present in the red list. http://bsienvis.nic.in/Database/RedlistedPlants_3940.aspx
The endemic species list should also be checked http://tnenvis.nic.in/writereaddata/Endemic%20Plants%20of%20Tamil%20Nadu.pdf
I wish to add scrapbook pages in the end that can be printed to document their finding experience. Currently, the field guide is expected to be made as an ebook that can be purchased and downloaded.
- Talk to Mr. Palaniappan Sarathy after my initial research and representation. To know about his study from his perspective and to establish a clear connect between the literature and botanical identification.
- Should I take GPS pictures to note my actual spotting of the plant?
- Kurinjipaatu is said to document the flowers in kurinji (hilly) regions of Tamil Nadu. How am I finding a decent amount of them in Madurai? Is it the migration of plants and a change in climate conditions? Or is it because Madurai is close to the Western Ghats? Are the same plants found in other regions as well?