Common Imperial (Cheritra freja) - Sikkim Butterfly

Scientific classification

Kingdom:       Animalia

Order:             Lepidoptera

Family:           Lycaenidae

Genus:            Cheritra

Species:           C. freja

Binomial name : Cheritra freja (Fabricius 1793)

Other Names:  Common Imperial

Special feature: Cheritra freja belongs to the gossamer-winged butterflies’ family (Lycaenidae).

Anthogonium gracile ( Slender Anthogonium) - Sikkim Flora

Scientific classification

Kingdom:       Plantae

Order:             Asparagales

Family:           Orchidaceae

Genus:            Anthogonium

Species:           A. gracile

Binomial name: Anthogonium gracile Wall. ex Lindl. (1836).

Other Names:  Slender Anthogonium, Anthogonium griffithii, Anthogonium corydaloides

Special feature: Anthogonium is a genus of orchids. At the present time (May 2014), only one species is recognized, i.e., Anthogonium gracile found in India, Assam, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Guangxi, Guizhou, Tibet, and Yunnan.(Source: Wikipedia)

Slender Anthogonium is a deciduous, miniature to medium sized terrestrial orchid found in eastern Himalayas in semi-deciduous and deciduous dry lowland forests. The plants have ovoid pseudobulbs carrying 1-3, deciduous, stalked, narrowly lance-shaped leaves. The plant blooms in fall season on an erect, slender, very long (up to 45 cm), branched or simple, raceme with 10-12 flowers that do not open well. The flowers are pink-purple in color and a strongly remind of Corydalis.

Flower Identified by: Mita Aich

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Christmas kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana) – Sikkim Flora

Scientific classification

Kingdom:       Plantae

Order:            Saxifragales

Family:           Crassulaceae

Genus:            Kalanchoe

Species:          K. blossfeldiana

Binomial name : Kalanchoe blossfeldiana Poelln.

Other Names:  Flaming Katy, Christmas kalanchoe and Madagascar widow's-thrill

Special feature: Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is a herbaceous and commonly cultivated house plant of the genus Kalanchoe native to Madagascar.

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is a glabrous, bushy, evergreen and perennial succulent plant which (in 2–5 years) can reach an ultimate height of between 30–45 cm (12-18 in.) and an ultimate spread of between 10–50 cm (4-20 in.). K. blossfeldiana has a round habit and a moderate plant density; its growth rate has been described as 'slow'. The plant has green, shiny and textured glossy foliage which stays green all year round. The scallop-edged and ovate leaves are arranged in an opposite/subopposite fashion, are simple in type with crenate margins and an oblong shape. The arrangement of the veins in a leaf (venation) can be absent or very hard to see; the leaf blades are 5–10 cm (2-4 in.) long.

K. blossfeldiana flowers in late autumn to early winter; each flower has four petals and can be one of a wide variety of colours, from the dark reds and pinks to oranges, golds and whites. The ovary is tetracarpellary and apocarpous while stamens are four in number and are epipetalous. The inflorescences are born by peduncles which are higher up than the leaves and are terminal in nature. Parts of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana are poisonous if ingested.. (Source: Wikipedia)

Identified by: Debasis Chattopadhyay

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Sulfur Cosmos (Cosmos sulphurous) - Sikkim Flora

Scientific classification

Kingdom:       Plantae

Order:            Asterales

Family:           Asteraceae

Genus:            Cosmos

Species:          C. sulphurous

Binomial name : Cosmos sulphurous Cav.

Other Names:  Sulfur Cosmos and Yellow Cosmos

Special feature: It is native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America, and naturalized in other parts of North and South America as well as in Europe, Asia, and Australia.

This plant was declared invasive by the United States Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council in 1996. The flowers of all Cosmos attract birds and butterflies, including the monarch butterfly.

This species of Cosmos is considered a half-hardy annual, although plants may re-appear via self-sowing for several years. Its foliage is opposite and pinnately divided. The plant height varies from 1–7 feet (30–210 cm). The original and its cultivars appear in shades of yellow, orange, and red.

Young shoots are eaten raw or cooked in Indonesia under the name of lalab or gudang.

The flowers are a dye, producing an orange-yellow dye, used in pre-Columbian America and later in southern Africa to dye wool. In Thailand, they are consumed in salads or herbal tea with the effect of inhibiting pancreatic lipase.

According to a Pakistani team (2017), in rats subjected to a high dose of paracetamol extract of the plant has a hepatoprotective effect.

A Ukrainian publication (2017) attributes to bread containing 10% dry extract of Cosmos sulphureus a good note for its organoleptic qualities. (Source: Wikipedia)