Garcinia indica (Kokam-कोकम)

Garcinia indica or Kokam tree is native to India and is found naturally growing on Western Ghat area. It is a very tall, evergreen and erect growing tree with very dense and glossy foliage. It is quite resistant to droughts. New leaves have reddish tinge. The tree belongs to Clusiaceae family.

Kokam tree flowers in winter and fruits mature in summer. Tiny flowers are greenish white in colour. Unripe fruit are green and on ripening they become deep red, speckled with white dots. Pulp and the juicy skin are sour in taste and possess pleasant aroma. Fruits are used for making syrup and digestive Kokam Saar or Solkadhi (कोकम सार, सोलकढी), concoction of coconut milk and Kokam juice. For making the saar, normally dehydrated fruits, called as Amsul (आमसुल), are used. Amsul is also used as souring agent in cooking foods. The fruit has many medicinal uses. Oil extracted from seeds is called as Kokam butter and has many uses in cosmetics. This oil becomes solid at room temperature. It is also used for healing cracked foot heels. Other common names for the fruit are Kokam, Amsul, Bhirund, Birund and Raatamba. The tree is propagated from seeds. These days grafted plants too are available in nurseries.

Flower

immature fruit

Ripe fruit

Seeds

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis)

Breadfruit  (Artocarpus altilis) is commonly called as Neer Phanas (नीरफणस) in Marathi & Divkadgi/Jivkadgi (दिवकडगी/जिवकडगी) in Konkani is also a close relative of Jack fruit. Breadfruit tree is much smaller than many other Jack trees. Its leaves too are much larger & have irregular leaf edge. The tree is evergreen & tolerant to coastal saline condition. It is quite a beautiful tree. Its wood is very brittle.

Breadfruit is a compound fruit; each and every thorny outgrowth is one fruit, all fused together. There are two varieties of breadfruit; one being seedless, other with seeds. The seedless variety is 'Artocarpus altilis' & the one with seeds is 'Artocarpus camansi'. This tree belongs to Moraceae family. The seedless variety is much superior to the seeded variety; as it has more fleshy & more tasty core. However, both are used only as vegetable. Taste of ripe fruit is not palatable at all. Mature but unripe fruits are harvested for use. A mature tree can bear as many as 250 fruit in a season. The main fruiting season is at the time of Ganesh Chaturthi. At that time there is great demand for these fruits. Each fruit costs not less than Rs.100/- at that time.

Matured seedless fruit

Ripe seeded variety

Male & female inflorescence is borne separately on the same tree. Seedless variety is propagated with root cuttings only; as it has no seeds. The one with seeds is propagated with seeds. However, commercially seeded variety has no value.

Ash gourd (Benincasa hispida)

Ash gourd (Benincasa hispida) has huge fruit and belongs to Cucurbitaceae family to which Cucumber also belongs. It grows on a climber. This climber is annual. It is propagated from seeds. Unlike other climbers this is not trained on the arch or on a trellis, because the excessive weight of the fruit. The climber is normally grown on tiled roof or directly on the ground. The fruit has excellent keeping quality and lasts many months if harvested at perfect maturity.

Mobile on fruit is for comparison of the size

An elongated, smaller fruit type

http://gardentia.net/2013/08/15/ash-gourd-kohalakushmand-petha-2/climber is bisexual, that is a single climber bears both male and female flowers. Female flowers can easily be distinguished from the ovary they have; which is lacking in male flowers. Many confuse this ovary with a fruit. Unless the female flower is fertilized, the fruit is not formed and the female flowers drop down. To decrease this abortion one can do hand pollination. A camel hair brush should be used to collect the pollen from a male flower and be deposited on stigma of the female flower.

Ovary of female flower is fertilized and the fruit is growing

Male flower

The fruit is used extensively for making Petha, a sweet. Slices of this gourd are soaked in syrup of sugar to make Petha. The fruit is also used as a fruit vegetable. It has many medicinal properties also. It is known also with following names: कोहळा (Kohala), कुमरा (Kumhra), पेठा (Petha), कुष्मांड (Kushmand).

White Ginger Lily (Hedychium coronarium)

Sontakka, Sugandhi, Suruli Sugandhi, Swarnachampa (सोनटक्का, सुगंधी, सुरुली सुगंधी, स्वर्णचंपा) are some of the common names of White Ginger Lily. The white and scented species is Hedychium coronarium. It belongs to Zingiberaceae (Ginger) family. The plant blooms very profusely from summer to end of monsoon. Outside this period also flowers appear on and off. The stems of this plant are underground and are ginger-like. These stems are called as 'Rhizomes'. The plant spreads its rhizomes sideways and multiplies easily. A stalk above the ground bears the leaves and on its terminal part flowers grow in a cluster. The flowers are highly scented. Flowers bloom in the evening. Occasionally fruit is formed but it is not very common. In fact, I have seen this fruit only once. The ripened fruit is yellowish-orange coloured. It splits in 3 parts and seeds covered with blood red arils are exposed (Aril is an exterior covering or appendage of some seeds). Seeds are brownish in colour.
Propagation of this plant is mainly by division of rhizomes. If one gets seeds, they can also be used for propagation. To make them sprout easily, the seeds should be soaked in warm water for about 24 hours. In beginning of summer that is in month of April, the old stalks above the ground with withering leaves must be cut at the base. Preferably the rhizomes should be separated and planted at some distance from each other. This encourages new growth and better flowering. A stalk bears inflorescence only once; after which the entire stalk must be removed at its base. The plants prefer semi shade and rich planting medium with good amount of humus. The plant also loves humid soil all the time but stagnation of water is not desirable.

Hedychium coronarium

Hedychium coronarium plants

Hedychium coronarium fruit

Hedychium coronarium seeds

There are hardly any pests or diseases. One pest which is common is a caterpillar of a butterfly. The caterpillar rolls the leaf with its spider web-like secretion and hides under the roll, happily chewing the leaves. The best thing is to observe the rolled leaves and remove the caterpillar.

Leaf rolling caterpillar

Flowers are made in to garlands or in 'वेणी' (Veni) by women to wear in their hair. In earlier days the Venis (वेणी) were strung together with banana leaf edges, which in Konkani is called as 'Vay' (वाय). For making garlands or venis, the flower buds are picked in the morning and are strung together. Hedychium flavum is a species with golden yellow flowers. Though the colour of these is very attractive, the flowers have milder scent than the white variety. These plants also grow very tall. There is also a pink flowering variety. This is known as Hedychium greenii.

Hedychium flavum

Hedychium flavum, very tall plants

Hedychium greenii