PRAKRITI, 26th April 2021, Vol. III, Issue 12 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 Calanthe plantaginea Papilio demoleus Copsychus saularis or or or Plantain Calanthe Lime swallowtail Oriental magpie-robin Officers’ Club Central Academy for State Forest Service, Dehradun P R A K R I T I, 26th April 2 0 2 1, V O L. III, I S S U E 12 FLORA OF THE WEEK Calanthe plantaginea Plantain Calanthe Calanthe, commonly known as Christmas orchids, is a genus of about 220 species of orchids in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in the genus Calanthe are terrestrial with small, crowded pseudobulbs with thick roots and a few corrugated or wrinkled leaves with the base tapering to a petiole-like stalk. Some species are evergreen while others are deciduous. The flowers are delicate but showy, white, pink, yellow or orange and crowded near the end of an erect, sometimes arching flowering stem. Flowering: March-April. The genus Calanthe was first formally described in 1821 by Robert Brown and his manuscript was published in The Botanical Register. The name Calanthe is derived from the Ancient Greek words kallos meaning "beauty"and anthos meaning "flower". Plantain Calanthe is a pale-pink, lilac or white, sweet-scented flowers. Flowers are many, borne on a stout stem longer than the leaves. Flowers are about 3 cm across, spuir long and very slender, horizontal. Lip is 3-lobed, lateral lobes broadly obovate, the mid -lobed boadly wedge-shaped, with three small orange ridges near the base. Sepals and petals are lanceshaped, pointed. Leaves are several, elliptic- lanceshaped, 20-30 cm, enlarging in fruit. Herbal Usage: Kingdom: Plantae Harvested tubers are washed, sun-dried and rendered into powder form. In Nepal, the Division: Magnoliophyta powder is mixed with milk is consumed as a tonic and aphrodisiac. Class: Liliopsida Threats to orchids: Order: Asparagales Globally, orchids are the most threatened species among the flowering plants. Due the Family: Orchidaceae various reasons like overexploitation, illegal trade and encroachment of land, change in climate, orchids species are threatened rampantly. Medicinal orchids are under Genus: Calanthe considerable threat due to habitat destruction, degradation - fragmentation and illegal collection for trade and consumption Species: plantaginea Distribution: Plant is found growing forest of western Himalayas, Eastern Himalayas, Nepal,Alliance: Bhutan, Sikkim and Yunnan and Xizang Province of China at elevations of 1800 to 2200 meters. Plants grows in intermediate to cool temperatures with shade. When potting Calanthe plants, the pseudobulbs must be half buried into the potting media. Plants can be potted in 40% soil, 40% dry bark and 20% perlite or another humus rich soil mixture. Plants should be watered regularly. 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 Mani Shankar Mishrai | SFS 2019–21| P1 Ph: 0135-2754575/ Fax: 0135-2756168; E-mail: [email protected] Shri Pradeep Wahule, IFS, Vice President, Officers’ Club V V V a a a P R A K R I T I, 26th APRIL, 2 0 2 1, Vol. III I S S U E 12 FAUNA OF THE WEEK Papilio demoleus lime swallowtail The lime swallowtail, Papilio demoleus Linnaeus, is sometimes called the chequered or citrus swallowtail. This butterfly ranges widely and is an extremely successful invader. Its proliferation appears to be aided by agricultural land use and urbanization that create new, suitable open habitat and enhanced availability of resources. It is known to feed on virtually all species and varieties of native or introduced citrus (including cultivated Citrus species), Glycosmis pentaph ylla (Jamaica mandarin orange), Ruta graveolens (common rue), Aegle marmelos (golden apple), Murraya koenigii (curry-leaf tree), and Chloroxylon swietenia (East Indian satinwood). Kingdom: Animalia Economic Importance: Phylum: Arthropoda The New World arrival of this vagile lepidopteran pest is a potential threat to the citrus industries in the region. The larvae are a serious pest of Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera citrus nursery stock (trees 1-2 ft. in height) and other young citrus trees in Family: Papilionidae Asia and the Middle East, where they are capable of defoliating entire nursery groves. Larvae may utilize young leaf flush on more mature trees. Genus: Papilio Species: demoleus Description: Adults: The adults range in wingspan from 80-100 mm. The hindwing has no tail. The upper portion of the forewing is largely black and the outer wing margin has a series of irregular yellow spots. Two yellow spots are present at the upper end of the discal cell with several scattered yellow spots in the apical region. The upper hindwing has a red tornal spot and the discal black band is dusted with yellow scales. The underside is paler yellow with the black areas more heavily dusted with yellow. The adults fly in every month but are more abundant after monsoons. Eggs: The eggs are pale yellow, nearly spherical, about 1.5 mm, basally flattened, and smooth. Females lay eggs singly near the edges of the host plant leaves. Larvae: First instars are black with a black head, with two sub-dorsal rows of short fleshy spines. Second, third, and fourth instars have a dark brown, glossy head capsule. The anterior, middle, and posterior parts have broad transverse off-white bands, giving larvae a bird dropping camouflage pattern. The head is brown, smooth and glossy, with short hairs. Pupae: The pupae are stout, rugose, and about 30 mm long. They are attached to the thicker stems of the host plant, or to adjacent sticks and rocks. The color is dimorphic, typical for many swallowtails, being either pale green or pink-brown Distribution : This species is found throughout tropical and subtropical regions of southern Asia, ranging from Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Middle East to India, Nepal, southern China, Taiwan, and Japan. It is also found in Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, and Australia. In recent years, Papilio demoleus has been recorded in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica. 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 Naresh Chandra Patidar Ph : 0135-2754575/ Fax: 0135-2756168; E-mail : [email protected] Shri Pradeep Wahule, IFS, Vice President Officers’ Club SFS2019 – 21| P2 V V V P R A K R I T I, 26th APRIL, 2021, V O L. III I S S U E 12 BIRD OF THE WEEK Copsychus saularis Oriental magpie-robin A medium -sized robin with a broad white wing bar running from the shoulder to the tip of the wing. Note white outer tail feathers, particularly when in flight. Males sport black-and-white plumage while the females are grayish brown and white. Juveniles resemble females, but have a scaly head and upperparts. They have a good repertoire of melodious calls and are known to imitate other bird calls. The most commonly heard call is a whistle given at dawn. Most often seen singing from a high exposed perch. These birds are often seen in cultivated areas, open woodlands, and gardens. Male The bird dislikes thick undergrowth and is mostly seen hopping along branches or foraging in leaf-litter on the ground for insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, ants, beetles, and insect-larvae, but may sometimes take a fancy to an occasional earthworm or gecko. In the opportunism that comes from city living, it may seize insects under street lamps at night. One way of spotting this bird is its tail movement: It carries its tail very high over the back, will frequently lower and expand it into a fan, then close and jerk it up again over the back. Males sing loudly from the top of trees or other high perches during the breeding season. They build their nests almost anywhere from thick shrubs, in the fork of branches of small trees, palms, hollow trees and even near human Female habitation: under a veranda, in a hole in the wall, in an old tin can, in stables. Interesting & Amazing Facts about Oriental Magpie Robin are: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata It is the national bird of Bangladesh k/a mystery bird. They prefer open areas such as mangroves, gardens, cultivated Class: Aves areas. They are not found in the deep forest. Their nests are large, untidy, shallow cups loosely made from Order: Passeriformes grass or dried leaves, twigs, moss, roots. Family: Muscicapidae They laid 3-5 eggs, pale blue or greenish with brown or purple spots. The female incubates, but both raise the young. Genus: Copsychus Magpie Robins don't migrate. They breed in January to June. Species: saularis Distribution: The Oriental Magpie Robin, resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from Bangladesh, interior India, Sri Lanka and east to Indonesia, Thailand, south China, Singapore and the Philippines. They have been introduced to Australia. Resident practically throughout the Indian Empire, up to about 2,000 feet elevation. Central Academy For State Forest Service Guided by: Photograophy & Compiled by: P.O. New Forest, Dehradun- 248006, Uttarakhand Shri Kunal Satyarthi, IFS, President Officers’ Club Om Prakash Bidare | SFS 2019 – 21| P3 Ph : 0135-2754575/ Fax: 0135-2756168; E-mail : [email protected] Shri Pradeep Wahule, IFS, Vice President Officers’ Club V V V a.