Wonders in Indian Coral Tree and in its seeds!

The Indian Coral Tree (Erythrina variegata, ‘Mul Murungai’ or ‘Sudukaai Maram’ in Tamil) blooms in the cool winter months of February and March, here in India. The flowers are bright red in color. They are seen grouped as bananas are seen. They are rich with nectar. Both their color and nectar attract many birds, like Humming birds and many insects like Honey bees. Whenever my Coral tree blooms, I find the honey bees build their hive even inside scooter’s exhaust pipe! These bees have colonized near the bountiful tree:

The tree is seen blooming even on the hills (for example, the nearby ‘Mahalinga malai’). It’s trunk is studded with short thorns that nobody climbs on it. Even wood cutters are reluctant to cut its wood for fuel!

Though I know about this Coral tree only in the recent years, I know well about its seeds in my early childhood itself:

 
Our group of children used to take out these seeds from the pods of this tree and brush hard one of it against the rough ground surface once or twice and press it on one another’s skin unwarily – to give the intense burning heat sensation that it produces!

This wonder tree with its seeds enchants me throughout my life! 

 

Cut Coral tree grows!

If you sow a seed, water and see tiny plant coming out, you get limitless bliss and pat yourself having done a wonderful job – as a child and also as an adult. You could also have imagined a tree coming out of a seed, as I did! Yes, I saw my tree in three years, as I imagined:

It was in full bloom and its flowers appeared like ’flames in the forest.” My tree is The Indian Coral Tree (Erythrina variegata, ‘Mul Murungai’ or ‘Sudukaai Maram’ in Tamil). But one day in its third year of bloom its canopy was cut down – for its growing up towards the sky (!), to avoid its touching the overhead electric lines:

I felt so sad about it for about two months till I saw tender leaves coming out of the stump:

You see here as it appears now:

I hope to see the wonderful reddish bloom once again on it in a year. Let us see!

Black Drongo chases Crows!

Still I remember the song (call) given by this bird about forty years ago! It is so melodious that it is pleasant to hear it every time. This bird’s monotonous call can be heard first at dawn before any bird could start calling. This bird is our Black Drongo (King Crow, Dicrurus macrocercus, ‘Karichaan Kuruvi’ or ‘Rettaivaal Kuruvi’ in Tamil). Anyone can identify this small black bird with its longer and forked tail. It sits higher on perches like electric lines, or rides on cow’s back, darting down now and then to catch insects and grasshoppers seen on the ground. Its delicacies are the Flying Termites at Monsoon season. And at summer time it is also seen near burning grasslands catching flies that escape out of fire.

This bird lays small eggs in cup like nest in April and the eggs hatch out in fifteen days, and the young ones fly out on the sixteenth day!

The bird chases away in flight even crows or mynahs that come near its nest! In doing so it makes a lot of noise alerting other birds.

I have seen this wonder black bird sitting on electric lines even at dusk, and near street lights catching insects at night!

Laminated Glass prevents injury!

Each time a glass cup or a plate is broken into pieces I take care that these do not injure the person handling them to dispose off. Still I see persons getting glass piece pricks into their feet as they walk on the rural roads. Nowadays there is also a change: I see smaller, regular and similar glass pieces (that resemble large sugarcane crystals) lying on the road when there is an accident, or on the fight scene in movie pictures! These pieces come out of Laminated Safety Glass (also called Automotive Glass). This special glass is a toughened and high strength glass. When shattered it holds together its broken pieces. It also prevents itself from breaking down into large sharp pieces even when it falls down from a height. Inside this glass there is an interlayer of Polyvinyl butyral (PVP). When it is broken the two outer layers of (broken) glass sheets are kept bonded only by this inner layer!

It is a wonder glass that doesn’t injure any one even when it is broken – unlike our heart!

Bagworms with jerky movements!

I often see some tiny spindle-shaped objects move on the floor of my room near the wall. They move in jerks. If I touch them they stop and restart to move on, as I take off my hand. They have the grey flattened casing around them with the head peeping out. (Here they resemble a just born human baby encircled with clothes all around!). These are the Bagworms (larvae of Bagworm Moths, Clania crameri). They have this bag or the case made of silk, and often have leaves or sticks stuck all around it. This nest-like encasing is said to be a protective mechanism against predators or the unfavorable environment (That’s why they have moved into my room escaping the hotness of summer!).

Hatching out from the eggs these larvae feast on the leaves voraciously. Male larvae grow up and attach to the twigs of trees and remain suspended pupating till winged adult moth comes out of it. But the female larvae stay as such inside their bags throughout their lives without developing into a winged adult!

It is a wonder larva of Bagworm Moths lurking inside its bag to grow and live!

Investigate this Toad Mystery!

I was wondering the other day at morning: what creature’s scat (animal dropping) could it be! It was black, shiny, smooth and of light weight in the shape of a capsule, lying on the garden. Could it be that of a snake or a bandicoot? I saw the scats each morning and was bewildered.

One day I crushed a scat into pieces with a stick: I found the shiny black heads of ants of various sizes in a brownish matrix! I was astonished. Could it be that of a toad?

Connecting the places where the trails of scats were found led me to the junk room where the toads usually lurk at daytime. Yes, those scats were those of Toads only (Bufo fowleri, ‘Theaurai’ in Tamil). Here in Tamil Nadu, there is a belief that if one kills a toad the person will be contracting the disease, Leprosy! I had tried to kill these toads: but I am often cheated by them. After an hour of beating and ‘killing,’ when I turn up to see the toad’s body it would have disappeared! Toads cannot be killed: they escape by playing dead. But they have to be beaten to pieces for that – as they attract snakes into the garden. Toads have been described in Puranic Tamil songs that they are seen even inside stones! They easily burrow into the sand and aestivate – to escape the unbearable hot and dry summer; their extra moist skin saves them from being dried up. They emerge out of the sand as soon as the monsoon starts.
This wonder toad camouflages to merge with the surrounding – with its brownish skin coloration!

Maize that amazed me!

At school we are taught and shown that fruits are formed out of flowers after pollination. We also see it happen in reality in the Nature. I was wondering about a plant that flowered at its top but bore no fruit out of those flowers! After some weeks a fruit body appeared growing larger and larger from its side lower down! I found this wonder in Sweet Corn (Zea mays var.rugosa or ‘Makka chollam’ in Tamil). Actually the punch of flowers on the tip of the stem is the male inflorescence (tassel) and that on the side (‘the fruit body’) is the female inflorescence (ears)! The corn matures out from this female inflorescence.

In yester years, this plant, the sweet corn was not seen cultivated here in South India. But now it is seen grown in every place through modern agricultural practices. It is very much adaptive to varying temperatures and grows fast to give a high yield – making itself a wonder plant!

Lizards use tactics!

The Common house lizard (Gecko) uses tactics to get its prey:

At dusk I close the glass doors of windows to prevent the entry of mosquitoes into the house. If any female mosquito present inside the house tries to get out (for mating with the male mosquito outdoors – and returning back inside for human blood!), it dashes with the glass pane. At this time the lizard that is waiting on there catches it and devours! At times lizards go out before the door is shut and waits on the outer surface of the windows. As I switch on the fluorescent light source (- UV rays emitting) inside the house, the insects present outdoors are attracted by the light and dash with the glass pane. Now the lizards feast upon them! Similarly, just before dawn they get mosquitoes that escape out!

These wonder lizards have keen observation, and are cleverer in using tactics!

Fixing this Swine Flu infection!

Man’s association with animals and birds has also affected his health. Such diseases are called Zoonotic diseases. But there are also other diseases of animals that do not spread to human beings. Unusually a disease known to spread within animals only, has now spread to human beings speedily, killing many people – in Mexico. This virus disease is the Swine Flu. It is seen in swine like the Bird Flu is seen in fowls. Now, (it has changed its mind finding swine boring!) it is infecting man – due to reassortment of genes within its strains. The importance of this Swine flu is its alarming speed in spreading – it has now leaped up to other continents also, from Mexico, making itself a Pandemic from the Epidemic nature! It spreads from man to man through coughing or sneezing or even by touching the articles handled and then moving the hand either to the nose or the mouth! People suffering with this disease have the symptoms as that of Influenza – fever with chills, body pain, and headache, loss of appetite, sore throat, runny nose and cough. Usually its attacks are milder, and even if they are stronger antiviral medicines make it milder leading to recovery.

How to defend yourself against an infection with the Swine flu virus? Simply build general immunity within you by taking balanced diet, taking rest between works and having a good night’s sleep. And make it a habit to wash your hands and face (with soap and water) and gargle after your work and on entering your house. Avoid touching the nose, eyes or the mouth without washing the hands. If this flu is reported in your region, wear face masks and avoid visiting crowded places and make stringent washing the hands and face. Swine flu will be driven out of your way!