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)

Begonia "Angel Wing" - Sikkim Flora

Scientific classification

Kingdom:       Plantae

Order:            Cucurbitales

Family:           Begoniaceae

Genus:            Begonia

Species:          Begonia "Angel Wing"

Special feature: Begonia "Angel Wing" is a hybrid Begonia which resulted from a cross between Begonia aconitifolia and B. coccinea. The hybridization was made by California plant breeder Eva Kenworthy Gray in 1926.

Angel is named for the shape of their leaves. Angel Wings generally contain spots or a frosted pattern. The underside is often a deep red. They flower and produce blooms that range in colors from red and pink to white.

Often, these plants are used as year-round houseplants. They're easy to grow for a gardener who understands their needs. Since begonias originated in the tropics, the ideal growing conditions include high humidity, good circulation of the air around the plant, a lot of water, and a lot of light. The more light, the more brilliant the color of the leaves. 

Angel Wing Begonias will grow well under shade cloth, lattice, or in early morning/late afternoon sun. They will burn if grown in direct mid-day sun. The flowers are edible, with a sweet tart taste.(Source: Wikipedia)

Northern Bedstraw (Galium boreale) - Sikkim Flora

Scientific classification

Kingdom:       Plantae

Order:            Gentianales

Family:           Rubiaceae

Genus:            Galium

Species:          G. boreale

Binomial name: Galium boreale L. 1753

Other Names:  Northern bedstraw

Special feature: G. boreale is a perennial plant that dies back to the ground every winter. Established plants spread by rhizomes, creating colonies of new plants around the original one

The squarish unbranched stems may grow between 20 centimetres (7.9 in) and 50 centimetres (20 in) tall. The leaves are attached directly to the stem in groups of four; spaced evenly like the spokes of a wheel. Leaves are longer than they are wide and have three prominent veins.

The small white flowers grow in fairly showy panicles from the top of the stem. Each individual flower has 4 pointed segments that fold back from a fused tube enclosing the stamens and pistil. The lightly perfumed flowers have no calyx. Seeds are formed in pairs in dark fruits that may be covered in short hairs.

Gallium boreale is edible, with a sweet smell and taste, and can be eaten as a wild salad green. (Source: Wikipedia)

Identified by: Debasis Chattopadhyay

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Chinese Lard Seed (Hodgsonia heteroclita) - Sikkim Flora

Scientific classification

Kingdom:       Plantae

Order:             Cucurbitales

Family:            Cucurbitaceae

Subfamily:      Cucurbitoideae

Tribe:              Sicyoeae

Genus:            Hodgsonia

Species:           H. Heteroclite

Binomial name: H. Heteroclite, Hook.f. & Thomson 1853

Other Names:  Chinese Lard Seed 

Special feature: Hodgsonia is a small genus of fruit-bearing vines in the family Cucurbitaceae.

Hodgsonia was named for Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1853 by British botanists Joseph Dalton Hooker and Thomas Thomson, who examined the plant under Hodgson's hospitality in the Himalaya.

Although the flesh of Hodgsonia fruit is inedible and considered worthless, the large, oil-rich seeds are an important source of food.

The medicinal importance of Hodgsonia is mostly in its leaves. In Malaya and java, native physicians report several uses for the nose. The leaves may be dried and burnt, and the smoke inhaled, or the juice of young stems and leaves is squeezed into the nostrils to allay irritation from small insects. The leaves are also boiled and the resulting liquid taken internally, both for nose complaints and to reduce fevers.

In Nagaland, the fruit bulb is applied to bacterial infections in the feet. In Sarawak, Hodgsonia oil is used to anoint the bodies of mothers after childbirth; it also forms the base of embrocations carrying ashes from the leaves of coconut palm and Kaempferia. The oil is also used as a base for medicines in Eastern India. (Source : Wikipedia)