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PRAKRITI, 8th January 2021, Vol.III, Issue 1 Weekly magazine P R A K R I T I Quest For Nature Flora of the week Fauna of the week Bird of the week Vanda tessellata Rucervus duvaucelii Dicrurus caerulescens Checkered Vanda Swamp Deer/ Barasingha White-bellied Drongo Officers’ Club Central Academy for State Forest Service, Dehradun P R A K R I T I, 8th February, 2 0 2 1, V O L. III, I S S U E 1 FLORA OF THE WEEK Vanda t essellata Checkered Vanda Vanda tessellata or Checkered Vanda is a medium to large sized, warm growing epiphytic orchid, with a climbing stem. Stem - 30–60 cm long, stout, scandent, simple or branching aerial roots. Leaves - long, linear, narrow, 3-toothed at the tip, succulent, 15–20 cm, recurved, complicate. The plant blooms on a sub-erect, 15-50 cm long inflorescence carrying 5 to 12, fragrant, long-lived flowers. The sepals & petals have undulating margins, pale green, yellowish green or somewhat bluish with checkered lines of olive-brown on the inner surface. The outer surface is white, while the lip is violet-purple with a white margin, and usually deeper purple towards the tip. Capsules 7.5–9 cm long, narrowly clavate-oblong with acute ribs. Santhal girls use the leaves for making anklets. Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Distribution & Habitat Clade: Tracheophytes Occurrence - Indian subcontinent to Indochina. Clade: Angiosperms It is native to Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka. Clade: Monocots They are growing on trees in dry and intermediate zones at elevations Order: Asparagales around 1500 meters. Grow as an epiphyte, compactly clothing the tree trunks of Terminalia Family: Orchidaceae bellarica , Mangifera indica, Madhuca indica, Peltophorum Subfamily: Epidendroideae pterocarpum , etc. Genus: Vanda Species: tessellata Medicinal properties: It is used in the Malayasian Penninsula as a cure-all by drinking the juice from the compressed plant. The plant has an alkaloid, a glucoside, tannins, β-sitosterol, γ-sitosterol and a long chain aliphatic compound, fatty oils, resins and colouring matters. Roots contain tetracosyl ferrulate and β-sitosterol-D-glucoside. In Yunani system, root is used as a tonic for liver & brain; fragrant, bitter & effective against dyspepsia, rheumatism, bronchitis, piles, lumbago, toothache, & boils of the scalp. It also lessens inflammation and heal fractures. The leaves are pounded and the paste is applied to the body to bring down fever; the juice is dropped in the ear for the treatment of Otitis media and other inflammatory conditions. Photography & Compiled by: Central Academy For State Forest Service Guided by: P.O. New Forest, Dehradun- 248006, Uttarakhand Shri Kunal Satyarthi, IFS, President Officers’ Club Ph : 0135-2754575/ Fax: 0135-2756168; E-mail : [email protected] Shri Pradeep Wahule, IFS, Vice President Officers’ Club AMITA RAJ | SFS 2019 – 21 | P1 V V V a a a n n n PRAKRITI, 8th February 2021, Vol. III, Issue 1 FAUNA OF THE WEEK Rucervus duvaucelii Swamp Deer/ Barasingha Three subspecies are currently recognized: • Western swamp deer R. d. duvauceli – has splayed hooves and is adapted to the flooded tall grassland habitat in the Indo-Gangetic plain; in the early 1990s, populations in India were estimated at 1,500–2,000 individuals, and 1,500–1,900 individuals in the Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve of Nepal; latter population reached 2,170 individuals including 385 fawns in spring 2013. • Southern swamp deer R. d. branderi – has hard hooves and is adapted to hard ground in open sal forest with a grass understorey; survives only in the Kanha National Park, where the population numbered about 500 individuals in 1988; 300– 350 individuals were estimated at the turn of the century; and 750 in 2016. It was reintroduced into Satpura Tiger Reserve. • Eastern swamp deer R. d. ranjitsinhi – is only found in Assam, where the population numbered about 700 individuals in 1978; 400–500 individuals were estimated in Kaziranga National Park at the turn of the century. After a census conducted in 2016, 1148 individuals were estimated in the park. Swamp deer are mainly grazers. They largely feed on grasses and aquatic plants, foremost on Saccharum, Imperata cylindrica, Narenga porphyrocoma, Phragmites karka, Oryza rufipogon, Hygroryza and Hydrilla. They feed throughout the day with peaks during the mornings and late afternoons to evenings. In winter and monsoon, they drink water twice, and thrice or more in summer. In the hot season, they rest in the shade of trees during the day. FAST FACTS: RANGE & DISTRIBUTION Scientific classification Called as Barasingha because of 12 antlers Kingdom: Animalia State animal of Madhya Pradesh Habitat specialist: feeds on aquatic grasses just Phylum: Chordata beneath the surface Class: Mammalia Very difficult to translocate: die because of transit shock Order: Artiodactyla Recent translocation to Satpura National Park Family: Cervidae showing signs of success (60 deers surviving) Rucervus duvaucelii is listed on CITES Appendix Genus: Rucervus I. In India, it is included under Schedule I of Species: duvacelii the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. In central India, the herds comprise on average about 8–20 individuals, with large herds of up to 60. There are twice as many females than males. During the rut they form large herds of adults. The breeding season lasts from September to April, and births occur after a gestation of 240–250 days in August to November. The peak is in September and October in Kanha National Park. They give birth to single calves. When alarmed, they give out shrill, baying alarm calls. The swamp deer populations outside protected areas and seasonally migrating populations are threatened by poaching for antlers and meat, which are sold in local markets. Swamp deer lost most of its former range because wetlands were converted and used for agriculture so that suitable habitat was reduced to small and isolated fragments. The remaining habitat in protected areas is threatened by the change in river dynamics, reduced water flow during summer, increasing siltation, and is further degraded by local people who cut grass, timber, fuelwood and by illegal farming on government land. Central Academy for State Forest Service Guided by: Photography & Compiled by: P.O. New Forest, Dehradun, 248006, Uttarakhand Shri Kunal Satyarthi, IFS, President Officers’ Club Ph: 0135-2754575/Fax: 0135-2756168 Shri Pradeep Wahule, IFS, Vice President, Officers’ Club Anshaj Pratap Singh Bhadoria| SFS 2019-21 I P2 P R A K R I T I, 8th February 2 0 2 1, V O L. III, I S S U E 1 BIRD OF THE WEEK Dicrurus caerulescens White-bellied Drongo The White-bellied Drongo is Geographic range: found only in the Indian • Subcontinent in India, Nepal, Dicrurus caerulescens caerulescens: Foothills of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They Nepal and peninsular India are mainly black in colour but • Dicrurus caerulescens with a white belly and vent. leucopygialis: Sri Lanka Young birds are however all black • Dicrurus caerulescens and can be confused with Black insularis: Sri Lanka Drongo. Description: • The adult White-bellied Drongo averages 9.4 inches (24 cm) in length. • The White-bellied Drongo has dark grey upper plumage. The tail is long and deeply forked. • The Indian race D. c. caerulescens has a pale grey under plumage - from the head to the breast, and is white from the abdomen down. • One Sri Lankan race, D. c. leucopygialis, has the white on the under plumage restricted to the vent area and undertail feathers. The young bird is duller and has a brownish-grey breast. • It has short legs and sits very upright whilst perched. Behaviour: Scientific Classification: Although they are insectivorous, they are also opportunistic and will prey on smaller birds. They used their feet while handling prey. They are aggressive and Kingdom: Animalia fearless in nature. Birds are often seen singly or in groups of 2 or 3 individuals. Phylum: Chordata The breeding season is from February to July. Two to four eggs, pale salmon coloured with reddish blotches on the broad end, are laid in the nest which Class: Aves may be 20 to 30 feet high up in the fork of a tree. Order: Passeriformes Habitat: Family: Dicruridae Generally, inhabits well-wooded deciduous tracts, bamboos, light forests, hill Genus: Dicrurus and plain, and avoids cultivation and treeless country as well as heavy Species: caerulescens evergreen forest. These birds are particularly found in bamboo and thin tree jungle. Central Academy For State Forest Service Guided by: Photography & Compiled by: P.O. New Forest, Dehradun- 248006, Uttarakhand Shri Kunal Satyarthi, IFS, President Officers’ Club Vanlalnunpuii Hmar | SFS 2019 – 21| P 3 Ph : 0135-2754575/ Fax: 0135-2756168; E-mail : [email protected] Shri Pradeep Wahule, IFS, Vice President Officers’ Club V V V a a a n n.