Indian Birthwort (Aristolochia indica)

This perennial climber is also called as Snakeroot and as Sapsan (सापसण) in Marathi. Arkamula, Garudakoti and ishwaramooli are other common names. Leaves of this climber are dark green and are quite glossy. It belongs to Aristolochiaceae family. Flowers are of a peculiar shape and have foul odor. They are brownish-maroon in colour. The plant blooms in summer and in monsoon. Fruit is a six valve capsule. When the capsule splits open, it looks like an inverted parachute. Winged, tiny, flat seeds are tightly packed in each compartment. Seeds easily disperse with wind.

This plant is native to India and Shri Lanka. Though the plant is supposed to have carcinogenic properties, it is used in some Ayurvedic medicines. This climber is a host plant for Southern birdwing butterfly Common birdwing butterfly, (Crimson Rose butterfly and Common Rose butterfly.

Bleeding hearts (Caladium hortulanum)

Due to heart shaped leaves and many varieties having blood red streaks, this wonderful plant is named as 'Bleeding hearts'. Another plant, Clerodendrum thomsonae, also is commonly named as 'Bleeding hearts. These plants have heart shaped inflorescence, with white sepals and blood red petals.

Caladiums love semi shade and highly humid locations. Though they are perennial, many go dormant after monsoon. In dormancy all the leaves die and the corms in the ground remain dormant. Just before monsoon next year, the corms burst in to new growth, exhibiting their gorgeous leaves. There are many varieties with different colour patterns and some have different shapes too. Though these plants have flowers, they are insignificant; thus they are considered as decorative foliage plants only. Caladium humboldtii is a compact growing and very attractive species. Due to its small size it is very ideal for terrarium garden.

Propagation of this plant is by division. A single corm, as it grows, produces many baby corms. The plant belongs to Araceae family, to which money plant also belongs.

Glowworms & fireflies

Glowworms are juvenile stage of fireflies; i.e. their caterpillars. In some species of fireflies females remain wingless even at maturity and are called as glowworms; only males of that species have wings and are capable of flight. It is understood that main food of glowworms is snails. It is really wonderful to know how this seemingly harmless grub could kill a snail. Slightly disturbed, snails pull back their entire bodies in a shell and the trapdoor is shut very tight. How the glowworms get to feed on these snails is just miraculous. These insects belong to Lampyridae family. Light produced by the glowworms and fireflies is called as Biolumienescence.

Glowowrm

Glowowrm light

Certain chemicals in these insects' bodies, including luciferin, combines with Oxygen, cool light is produced. But the most wonderful thing is that how these insects are capable of controlling the light as Oxygen and the chemicals are present in the bodies all the time. It is said that the flickering light is signals for attracting mates. It is also reported that light emitting also is to warn the predators that they are unpalatable if preyed upon.

Firefly

Fireflies photographed in pitch dark using their own lights

In Panvel, Maharashtra, I saw another type of glowworm with its body having brown bands and another one which did not look like a caterpillar at all. The later could be the fully matured wingless glowworm female. As the glowworms remain almost still and emit steady light continuously in dark, it was very easy to photograph them in pitch dark room, using their own light. For that I had to give a long exposure to my camera. I also wanted to take photograph of fireflies in their own light. This was not possible because they fly around and their light is flickering. So I caught about 8 fireflies and kept them in a transparent plastic bag.(These were released after photography session) This bag was kept on a National Geographic magazine in a pitch dark room. Then I photographed the magazine in only light of the fireflies. One rainy night I saw a firefly settle on a window glass pane of my room in Vavoshi, Maharashtra;thus I shot a video of its flickering light.

Another wingless glowworm